Nearly 70 years since Independence, a large proportion of urban Indians, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups, are deprived of adequate public provisioning in water supply and sanitation. The discourse of ‘urban’ is increasingly being captured through the rhetoric of ‘Smart Cities’, even as urban residents are yet to receive basic services. Albeit late, sanitation has now occupied centre-stage in India’s policy framework through the current government’s flagship: Swacch Bharat Mission.

This chapter seeks to understand the nature of exclusion from water and sanitation services in India, and proposes a way forward to address these
exclusions. The initial section of the chapter argues that it is necessary to expand the definition of water and sanitation as a public good if desired health outcomes are to be achieved. The essay argues that while the abysmal level of provisioning in urban areas means that most of urban India represents some or other form of exclusion, certain vulnerable
groups, for instance, urban poor, Dalits and women, face a higher extent of exclusion. These differential exclusions are even more evident if the expanded definition of water and sanitation as a public good is taken into account. Further, these vulnerable groups are hit harder because they are unable to afford alternate, feasible means of self-provisioning, and also cannot afford the consequent health care costs.