Understanding the Urban Services Divide in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana state in India, has experienced rapid urbanization over the past few decades. While the city’s economic growth has been impressive, the benefits have not been equitably distributed. Underlying this disparity is the urban services divide – the stark contrast between those who have access to crucial municipal infrastructure and services, and those who do not.
In Hyderabad’s sprawling slums, home to over 1.5 million residents, the lack of reliable water supply, adequate sanitation, and proper waste management has created a public health crisis. Only 40% of slum households have access to piped water, and a mere 12% are connected to the city’s sewer network. The majority rely on shared or communal toilets that are often unsanitary and inadequately maintained. This compromises personal hygiene and exposes residents, especially women and children, to the risk of waterborne diseases like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
Poor sanitation also has broader environmental consequences. Untreated wastewater and solid waste from slums often end up polluting nearby water bodies, contaminating the groundwater, and degrading the city’s overall ecosystem. These disparities in access to basic services between the affluent and the urban poor perpetuate a vicious cycle of poverty, ill health, and environmental degradation.
Triggering Transformative Change through Community Engagement
To address this longstanding challenge, the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) has embarked on a multi-pronged strategy that focuses on bridging the urban services divide. Central to this approach is a strong emphasis on community engagement – actively involving slum residents in the design, implementation, and monitoring of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions.
1. Participatory Slum Upgrading
HMC has partnered with community-based organizations (CBOs) to undertake comprehensive slum upgrading projects. These initiatives go beyond simply building infrastructure and instead prioritize the active participation of residents throughout the process.
For example, in the Janwada slum, HMC worked closely with the local CBO to conduct household surveys, map the area’s existing WASH facilities, and identify residents’ priority needs. This participatory approach ensured that the subsequent infrastructure upgrades – such as the installation of community toilet complexes, solid waste collection points, and stormwater drainage systems – were tailored to the community’s specific requirements.
Importantly, the CBO also played a key role in mobilizing residents to contribute labor and resources towards the construction and maintenance of these facilities. This fostered a sense of ownership among the community, which has been critical for the long-term sustainability of the interventions.
2. Behavior Change Communication Campaigns
Alongside infrastructure improvements, HMC has launched comprehensive behavior change communication (BCC) campaigns to promote critical hygiene practices, such as handwashing with soap and proper disposal of human waste.
These campaigns leverage insights from behavioral science to design culturally appropriate messaging and activities. For instance, in the Balapur slum, HMC collaborated with local women’s self-help groups to organize street plays, household visits, and school-based programs that encouraged handwashing habits. The messaging appealed to emotional drivers like nurturing care for children and social status, rather than solely focusing on disease prevention.
Furthermore, HMC has trained community health volunteers to serve as local champions, modeling good hygiene behaviors and reinforcing the BCC messaging within their neighborhoods. This “peer-to-peer” approach has proven more effective than top-down, government-led campaigns in influencing social norms and sustaining behavior change.
3. Strengthening Community-based Service Delivery
To address the gaps in municipal service provision, HMC has actively integrated informal and community-based service providers into the city’s WASH system. This includes:
- Partnering with local waste collection cooperatives to improve solid waste management in slums
- Supporting community-managed water kiosks that provide affordable, quality-assured drinking water
- Collaborating with community sanitation committees to oversee the maintenance and cleanliness of shared toilet facilities
By recognizing the vital role these informal actors play in meeting the needs of the urban poor, HMC has been able to extend the reach and responsiveness of essential services. Crucially, this approach also empowers communities to have a greater say in how services are delivered and managed within their neighborhoods.
Building Coalitions for Sustained Impact
Hyderabad’s journey towards more equitable and sustainable WASH services has not been without its challenges. Overcoming entrenched power dynamics, ensuring coordination across different government agencies, and securing long-term financing have all been critical hurdles.
However, HMC’s strategy of forging broad-based coalitions has been instrumental in driving and sustaining transformative change. By aligning diverse stakeholders – including slum residents, community organizations, the private sector, and higher levels of government – HMC has been able to marshal the necessary political will, technical expertise, and financial resources to implement its vision.
For instance, HMC has actively engaged with the national government’s Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Campaign) to leverage funding and technical support for its slum upgrading initiatives. Similarly, it has partnered with local businesses and philanthropic organizations to co-create innovative financing mechanisms, such as outcome-based contracts and results-based incentives, to scale up community-led service delivery models.
Importantly, HMC has also invested in strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations and empowering slum residents as active agents of change. By nurturing local leadership and decision-making, the city has been able to sustain momentum and ensure that the benefits of improved WASH services continue to reach the most marginalized communities.
Lessons and Insights for Other Cities
Hyderabad’s experience offers valuable lessons for other cities in the global South grappling with the urban services divide:
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Prioritize community engagement: Meaningfully involving slum residents in the design, implementation, and monitoring of WASH interventions is crucial for ensuring the relevance, acceptability, and long-term sustainability of these efforts.
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Combine infrastructure upgrades with behavior change: Improving physical infrastructure must be accompanied by targeted, behavioral insights-driven campaigns to shift social norms and sustain good hygiene practices.
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Integrate informal service providers: Recognizing and incorporating community-based and informal service providers can help bridge gaps in municipal service provision, particularly in underserved areas.
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Build broad-based coalitions: Aligning diverse stakeholders, from grassroots organizations to higher levels of government and the private sector, can help unlock the political will, technical expertise, and financial resources needed for transformative change.
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Empower local leadership: Investing in the capacity of community-based organizations and slum residents as change agents is essential for maintaining momentum and ensuring equitable outcomes.
By applying these principles, cities can leverage the power of community engagement and behavioral insights to tackle the urban services divide and create more inclusive, sustainable, and healthy urban environments for all.
