ADB approves $125 mn loan for Uttarakhand projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved a loan of $125 million (around Rs 938 crore) for water supply and sanitation projects in Uttarakhand.

The funds will be utilised to improve access to quality water supply and sanitation services in the Himalayan state, ADB said in a release.

Under this project, 136 kilometres of water pipe system will be constructed to replace defective water networks in South Dehradun.

This will ensure reliable and continuous water supply, benefitting an estimated 40,000 people, including 4,000 urban poor and vulnerable groups.

Water meters will also be installed in about 5,400 households to support efficient water use and consumption billing, ADB said.

The project will also involve setting up sewage treatment plants in Dehradun, supported by 256 km of enclosed underground sewer networks and 117 km of stormwater drainage networks.

It will benefit an estimated 138,000 residents, including 15,000 urban poor and vulnerable people, said the Manila-based multilateral funding agency.

ADB said a total of 17,410 households in the state capital will be connected to this sewerage system.

It will also replace the aging sewage treatment plant with a new one using advanced technology, and trunk sewer rehabilitation in Nainital.

The project will ensure resilient and reliable sanitation services to the entire population of about 154,000 people.

"Lack of reliable and clean water and sanitation services is a major concern in the fast-growing and rapidly urbanizing state of Uttarakhand," said ADB Senior Urban Development Specialist for South Asia, Na Won Kim.

"This project will enhance the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Dehradun and Nainital to provide reliable and efficient water supply and sanitation services.

"ADB's support will help improve the country's health conditions through innovative and climate-resilient investment and deeper institutional support," Kim said.

ADB said the project incorporates some lessons from its earlier financed projects in Uttarakhand and other states in India.

Building city-wide sanitation to make them cost-effective, wider-reaching and less water-dependent, and engaging the private sector to build the skills of concerned urban local bodies on operation and maintenance systems are among those lessons.

The project will introduce a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and geographic information system (GIS) to provide real-time data and information for monitoring.

"Moreover, for the first time in India's water and sanitation sectors, the project will introduce four citywide computerized maintenance and management systems to advance operation and maintenance, and asset management of the water supply and sanitation infrastructures and services," ADB added.

The funding agency said it will provide a $250,000 technical assistance (TA) grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund.

Another $750,000 grant from its Climate Change Fund will be given to further strengthen climate-resilient urban planning and development of the state by carrying out thorough assessment, supporting science-based decision making, developing smart integrated and resilient urban planning tools, and capacity-building activities.

Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters