Drinking water in rural Kutch

Supplying safe drinking water to rural households has been a problem we've been trying to solve for eons now.

 Tata power has supplied Bhadreshwar village in coastal Kutch with this R.O Water treatment plant. It's been donated to the panchayat sort of. So, villagers pay Rs.5 per can of 30 litres. If they want it home delivered, an extra Rs.5 is paid to the small errand boys. It's run by some of the village youths, who no doubt have close affiliations to the sarpanch. This system just started about 2 months back. And about 120 households avail of these cans. There are over 800 households in this village. Its an interesting model...  

 We see large government funded free, piped drinking water systems work effectively in so few places. Especially given that they're always implemented by the panchayat through NREGA, Swajal Dhara, NRDWP or other schemes, drinking water projects have always been linked to large construction like laying pipes and building tanks - the kind of operations that most panchayats do such a shoddy job of. In such a context, is this a reasonable solution?

A family of five would probably need at least one can a day - drinking, cooking, etc. Meaning, drinking water costs alone come to Rs.180 per month. I doubt any Govt sponsored piped water scheme in India cost as much. But still, this system ensures water atleast reaches the houses.

Is Rs.180 per month really prohibitive? Is there a minimum price to pay to ensure the system runs effectively?

The larger question being asked is... Is pricing a basic good necessarily bad? 

Mind you, arguments put forth here, may also be used for distribution of some other basic goods like food. 

PS: This area falls right next to the Mundra coastal SEZ park, where several other controversial projects have and are coming up. It has seen several protests for the last few years by mostly fishermen, who constitute over 50% of the villages here. No doubt corporate initiatives such as the R.O plant need to be seen with the SEZ background.

Photo credits: Self.