Including people as the 4th P in the PPP Model ? Arun Lakhani

Posted by vil india on October 3rd, 2016

Mr. Arun Lakhani the Chairman and Managing Director of Vishvaraj Pvt Ltd.considers himself as a social industrialist since Water, Waste Water and Transport; the sectors in which we have built our reputation are closely interwoven with the lives of people. As business, apart from value creation for share holders they also impact happiness quotient of the community, thus offering massive satisfaction to us for our life transforming work. With the understanding and sensitivity towards Indian culture, we see huge opportunities by improvising processes and effectively implementing the 4P model with the addition of a 4th P i.e. People —the people at large. In our opinion no business model can be sustainable in the long run without benefiting and involving the largest stakeholder i.e. the people.

Involving people and to see their problems from their point of view, is a key factor for the sustainable growth in Water Sector especially through PPP. Therefore the concept of citizen engagement came into existence through various platforms. We are emphasizing on communicating with all stakeholders for all our projects in the water sector.

Ever since the Indian economy was opened and the process of liberalization was set in, various private players added their might partnering with public enterprises in a range of sectors. PPP as a concept on paper brings in very good synergy of Private enterprise efficiency with Public ownership of assets. But in reality we see a trust deficit between the ultimate stakeholders, People on one hand and Government & Private 30 years can be a risk unless people are on boarded. Our answer to this situation is Involve / Integrate the Fourth P – People – citizens in the PPP Model enhancing its credibility. PPP can be very successful if the fourth P- People are integrated in the structure with openness and responsibility of communicating with larger masses. People as largest stakeholders in any PPP must participate to monitor the contracts done between the two Ps. Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL India) got the people involved and had a good understanding of their needs and demands with the following activities or rather using these forums as their means to get a point of view at large. Mohalla Meetings: Meetings are organized to educate people for metered connection, consumption control and how to manage our water bill. My City My Water: Students are sensitized for water conservation and then they spread this learning with their family and society.  SHG Awareness: By involving Self Help Group Women, we are joining hands together for delivering mass messages among the community dwellers. NGO Networking: Approach to a various NGO’s is proving a crucial driver for Social Engagement regarding water, a resource to which they are sentimentally connected. In the current context taking ‘People’ on-board with open communication & transparency is a business imperative for the Private Partner rather than a CSR initiative.