Urban Neoliberalism and the Right to Water and Sanitation for Bangalore’s Poor

Abstract

In India, as in other developing countries, urban water and sanitation services have been buckling under the pressure of growing urban populations, ageing or non-existent infrastructure, competing resource demands, and a milieu of governance challenges. Concurrent to these challenges has been an increased emphasis on reforming and transforming Indian cities in line with neoliberal logics; rationalised under the auspices of achieving equity, efficiency and sustainability of urban infrastructures, government institutions and space. The extent to which this neoliberal trajectory will result in inclusive cities, especially for the poor, is however questionable. This chapter explores the intersections between the neoliberalisation of water and sanitation in Bangalore and the rights to these services for the poor. By examining efforts to extend services to the city’s slums, and the water and sanitation conditions of the homeless who have received no attention in government initiatives to provide services, the chapter reveals the elusive character of the ‘inclusive city’ when neoliberal logics take trumps over human rights.