CIVIC AMENITIES IN URBAN AREAS

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CHAPTER 6.2

CIVIC AMENITIES IN URBAN AREAS

6.2.1 The traditional role of municipal bodies hadbeen one of providing basic amenities of civic life.Services such as water supply and sanitation, roadsand drains, street-lights, collection and disposal ofsolid waste, maintenance of public places, burialgrounds and crematoria, cattle pounds, registrationof births and deaths, maintenance of markets havelong been seen as the function of municipal bodies.In addition, they performed certain regulatoryfunctions relating construction of buildings, publichealth areas such as eating places, slaughterhouses and tanneries, etc.

6.2.2 The 74th Constitutional Amendment hassubstantially broadened the range of functions tobe performed by the elected urban local bodies(ULBs). The Twelfth Schedule brings into themunicipal domain among others such areas suchas urban and town planning, regulation of land-use,planning for economic and social development,‘safeguarding the interests of weaker sections ofsociety including the handicapped and mentallyretarded,’ slum improvement and upgradation,urban poverty alleviation, and ‘promotion of cultural,educational and aesthetic aspects’. The subject of‘cattle pounds’ has been extended in the TwelfthSchedule to include ‘prevention of cruelty toanimals’. The Constitution thus envisages urbanlocal bodies as being totally responsible for allaspects of development, civic services, andenvironment in the cities, going far beyond thetraditional role.

6.2.3 Provision of basic amenities will continueto be among the core activities of the ULBs. Theefficient performance of these responsibilitiesrequires proper institutional structure, unambiguousdecentralisation of powers, adequacy of resources,support of the State Governments and their entities,and a concerted effort to build up capabilities in thevarious sections of the ULB machinery. During theTenth Plan, some key areas of water supply and

sanitation, urban transport, alleviation of urbanpoverty, the housing needs of slum-dwellers, andreforms in the urban sector with a view tostrengthening the institutional and resource baseof ULBs will have to be taken up for special attention.

URBAN WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

6.2.4 As in the Eighth and Ninth Plans, in theTenth Plan also the approach to the water supplyand sanitation sector will take into account theguiding principles suggested in the New DelhiDeclaration, which was adopted by the U.N. GeneralAssembly in December 1990. these are:

a) Protection of the environment andsafeguarding of health through theintegrated management of waterresources and liquid and solid waste;

b) Organisational reforms, promoting anintegrated approach and includingchanges in procedures, attitudes, andbehaviour, and the full participation ofwomen at all levels;

c) Community management of services,backed by measures to strengthen thecapacity of local institutions inimplementing and sustaining water andsanitation programmes;

d) Sound financial practices, achievedthrough better management of existingassets and extensive use of appropriatetechnologies.

6.2.5 Water needs to be managed as aneconomic asset rather than a free commodity inthe same way as any other resource. Theregeneration of sources shall be the responsibilityof every user agency, whether they use water for

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drinking, irrigation or other purposes. Supply ofwater to consumers should normally be based onthe principle of effective demand that should broadlycorrespond to the standard of service which theusers as a community are willing to maintain,operate and finance. At the same time, specialprovisions should be made to meet the needs ofthe poor who have less capacity to pay.

6.2.6 Within this overall perspective, the TenthPlan envisages completing the task at hand,namely, 100 per cent coverage of rural and urbanpopulations with safe drinking water as per thestipulated norms and standards on a sustainablebasis. However, the focus should not only be onthe investment requirements to augment suppliesor install additional systems in sanitation andwater supply. Instead, greater attention must bepaid to the critical issues of institutionalrestructuring, managerial improvement, betterand more equitable service to citizens who musthave a greater degree of participation. Tenth Planmust also focus on achieving sustainability of thesector through the adoption of adequatemeasures in operation and management (O &M), the financial health of the utilities throughefficiency of operations and levy of user charges,and conservation and augmentation of watersources. In view of the 73rd and 74th ConstitutionalAmendments, the task of providing and managingwater supply and sanitation cannot be separatedfrom the issue of functional and financialautonomy and strengthening of capacity in bothrural and urban local bodies. External assistance,involvement of the private sector, andinstitutional/market finance are necessary toaugment resources and to encourageparticipatory and innovative managementpractices.

URBAN WATER SUPPLY

6.2.7 According to the 54th round of NationalSample Survey (NSS) an estimated 70 per cent ofurban households reported being served by tap and21 per cent by tubewell or handpump. Sixty-six percent of urban households reported having theirprincipal source of drinking water within theirpremises, while 32 per cent had it within 0.2 km.Forty-one per cent had sole access to their principalsource of drinking water, which means that 59 percent were sharing a public source. Fifteen per centof households did not get sufficient drinking waterfrom their principal source, between April and June,May being the worst month. In the aggregate, 91per cent of urban households reported the qualityof drinking water served by their principal sourcesto be satisfactory. 18 per cent reported using somesupplementary source of drinking water and 96 percent reported storing their drinking water.

6.2.8 Since independence there has beensustained effort at providing, on a priority basis,potable water to all habitations, and this has beensuccessful to a large extent as seen from the NSSdata. Almost all urban centres have been providedwith some public water supply scheme which is theprimary source of potable water for most urbaninhabitants. State level data show that on an average88 per cent of the urban population were providedwith water supply through a public water supplyfacility, with many States reporting 90 per cent andmore coverage. However, official reports tend togive greater weight to physical and financialprogress rather than the quality, reliability andsustainability of services. The picture will beincomplete and misleading if the many andsignificant lacunae in the existing scenario are nothighlighted:

BOX : 6.2.1WHAT THE ‘COVERAGE’ STATISTICS DO NOT REVEAL

Statistics of ‘coverage’ of around 90 per cent, and bare figures of quantity of water supplied in the citiesas claimed by authorities, tend to hide several realities regarding both the operations of the system, andthe experience of consumers.

§ The ‘coverage’ figure may relate to installed capacity. What is relevant for the consumer is theactual operating capacity of the water supply system, or the average actual supply over a sustainedperiod.


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§ ‘Coverage’ by itself does not reveal the adequacy of the system, especially of the adequacy ofstorage, treatment and distribution arrangements, both in terms of capacity and operational features.Thus, there can be wide variations within a city in the quantity and quality of water supplied.

§ Coverage figures do not indicate the actual functioning of the system and allowance may need tobe made for breakdowns which may deprive the consumers of water for several days;

§ Coverage figures also do not reveal the regularity or duration of supply, or even whether the supplyis made on a daily basis or less frequently;

§ Coverage does not reveal the financial sustainability of the system which may be low due to lowtariff and poor recovery. In many towns, poor finances result in poor maintenance, leading to morefrequent breakdowns and degeneration of the system leading to major expenditure on renovation,which could have been avoided by timely maintenance. Due to inadequate revenue raising, defaultsin payment of electricity bills are quite common, making non-payment of water supply dues a majorsource of loss to the State Electricity Boards.

§ Coverage does not reveal the year-round performance, like water availability in summer. In anumber of schemes dependent on ground-water as well as surface sources, availability reduces insummer, causing serious disruption of normal life;

§ Figures on treated and non-treated water supply are not available. Many urban centres lack treatmentfacilities, and where they do exist, they are often not used or used without quality control andtesting;

§ Coverage figures do not reveal information regarding the number of hours of supply in the case ofhousehold connections, and for public stand-posts, the distance, time taken to collect water, numberof users of each stand-post, etc. New connections are delayed or sometimes denied, while newareas, especially unauthorised developments, remain unserviced.

§ Typically, the urban residents need to supplement public supplies with water obtained from privatesources, and this is usually much more expensive. The extent to which this is required to be done– the proportion of water procured privately against the quantity determined as norm – is notbrought out when only ‘coverage’ figures are provided;

§ There are no accurate figures for unaccounted for water and the quantity actually reachingconsumers. The supply figures often include unaccounted for water. Unaccounted for water alsoincreases costs to consumers as the cost relating to water that is lost has to be made up in the tariffcharged to legal connections.

§ Most importantly, the coverage figures say nothing about the equity of distribution, while it is well-known that the poorer areas are provided with less water whereas the influential rich will get a moresatisfactory service.

§ Coverage figures say nothing about unauthorised connections, and contamination of supplydue to poor maintenance and mixing with drainage and sewerage waters, nor about inequityin tariff due to flat rates applied equally to those who obtain superior service and those whoget poor service.


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Norms of Water Supply

6.2.9 The Manual on Water Supply andTreatment, published in May 1999 by Central PublicHealth and Environmental Engineering Organisation(CPHEEO), Ministry of Urban Development andPoverty Alleviation, specifies norms and standardsof municipal water supply for domestic and non-domestic needs, such as institutional, commercial,fire-fighting and industrial requirements. Therecommended minimum per capita water supplylevels for designing schemes are:

1. Towns with piped water supply but withoutsewerage system: 70 litres per capita perday (lpcd)

2. Cities with piped water supply and existingor planned sewerage system : 135 lpcd

3. Metropolitan and megacities with pipedwater supply and sewerage : 150 lpcd

4. Public standposts: 40 lpcd

The above figures exclude unaccounted for water(UFW), which should be limited to 15 per cent. Therequirement of water for commercial, institutionaland minor industries is included. However, the bulksupply to such establishments should be assessedseparately with proper justification.

6.2.10 The norms and standards of publicstand-posts, including the number of householdsper stand-post, distance, sanitation at the stand-post and guaranteed hours of supply, need to berevised so that the households dependent onpublic standposts get their due share of water.The Eighth Plan specifies one source for 150persons, with a maximum walking distance of 100metres. The norms of services including watersupply and sanitation under the EnvironmentalImprovement of Urban Slums (EIUS) weredetermined many years ago, but few slums haverisen above slum status despite many years ofimplementation of EIUS. While the prescribednormative level of supplies and services have notyet been met, there is already a need to re-definethe standard of services in particular to slumsand others who depend on public stand-posts for

water, and in sanitation, on community facilities.This should be taken up during Tenth Plan.

6.2.11 The existing general norms are by nomeans very high though they have hardly beenmet in most cities. The norms are not a ceilingbut only a minimum. They should not, therefore,come in the way of any municipal body or watersupply authority taking up projects for furtheraugmenting supplies over and above the norms,if such projects can be financed from its ownresource or borrowings, without subsidy or grantsfrom the State or Central Government. The firstpriority, should however, be to plug leakages,uprate existing water works, and conserve waterthrough proper planning of supply andmaintenance of the system. Where supplies arefound to be insufficient, concerted efforts shouldfirst be taken to improve the efficiency of theexisting schemes. New augmentation schemesshould be taken up only when these are foundnot to meet the needs.

Investment Needs of the Water Supply Sector

6.2.12 Assessing investment needs of a sectorspread over more than 5000 urban centres, eachwith its own level of supply and distribution andchanging needs, is no easy task. In the absence ofa reliable system of collection of urban data, thestatus and needs of almost all civic amenities ishard to estimate.

Cost of Water Supply and Sanitation : HUDCOhas estimated cost of water supply from surfacesources to range from Rs 0.81 crore per mld to Rs2.03 crore per mld at 1998-99 prices. The cost ofsupply from ground water sources is estimated torange from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 61 lakh per mld.Likewise, HUDCO estimates per capita investmentfor sanitation to be as follows:

Sewerage augmentation – Rs 1,620Conventional treatment – Rs 162Septic tank with soak pit – Rs 4,050Twin-pit without – Rs 377.5 (15 users)superstructure to Rs 648 (5 users).

The India Infrastructure Report (Rakesh MohanCommittee) has estimated that the aggregate levels


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of total annual investment requirement for urbaninfrastructure inclusive of water supply andsanitation and other infrastructure, would be in theregion of Rs 28,297 crore over the period of 1996-2001, and it would be of the order of Rs 27,773crore for the 2001-2006 period.

CPHEEO Estimates : The CPHEEO has estimatedthat by the end of the year 2007, the urbanpopulation of the country is likely to be around 36.3crore. For achieving 100 per cent coverage by theend of the Tenth Five Year Plan and taking intoaccount the urban population already covered, therequirement of funds has been assessed.

6.2.13 In regard to sewerage and sanitationfacilities, it is assessed that 57 per cent of the urbanpopulation is likely to be covered by end of NinthPlan. The estimates are based on the proposedcoverage of 75 per cent of urban population.Moreover, 35 per cent of population already coveredby the end of the Eighth Plan would needaugmentation/rehabilitation and is included incalculation of fund requirements.

6.2.14 Based on these assumptions ofrequirements to be met, the CPHEEO hasestimated the following requirements during theTenth Plan :

Water Supply - Rs 28,240 croresSanitation - Rs 23,157 croresSolid waste management - Rs 2,322.60 croresTotal - Rs 53,719.80 crores.

These are rule-of-the-thumb estimates which onlyindicate the order of magnitude of investmentrequirements. The figures need revision on the basisof actual urban population growth figures providedby the 2001 Census. On the ground, the investmentneeds will vary from town to town and will dependon the existing levels of supply and the gap vis-à-vis the normative levels, the current state of earlierinstallations and their performance in comparisonto design capacity, and the cost of augmentationwhich will largely depend on the type of source,distance of the source, topographical factors, qualityof water etc. Costs of operation also vary dependingon the costs of pumping, treatment, maintenanceetc. The exercise of assessing the water supply

needs to be fulfilled is yet to be done and should beundertaken during the Tenth Plan. StateGovernments need to carry out this task incooperation with the ULBs.

State of Water Supply Services

6.2.15 The urban population faces an increasingdemand-supply gap, wholly inadequate andunreliable supplies particularly in settlements of theurban poor, and deteriorating financial and technicalperformance of systems. To take only themetropolitan cities, according to a World Bank study,of 27 Asian cities with populations of over onemillion, Chennai and Delhi share the same rank asthe worst performing cities in terms of hours of wateravailability per day, while Mumbai is ranked as thesecond worst performer and Kolkata as the fourthworst.

6.2.16 The problems of the sector are manifold.Transmission and distribution networks are old andpoorly maintained. Consequently, physical lossesare high, ranging from 25 to 50 per cent. Lowpressures and intermittent supplies allow back-siphoning, which results in contamination of waterin the distribution network. The utilities areoverstaffed. Intermittent supplies for only two toeight hour places a burden on the women who haveto fetch water from public taps. The urban poor,who constitute one-fourth of the urban population,and the slumdwellers, who may range from one-third to half of the population in certain cities, arethe worst affected. Ensuring equity in distributionof available supplies is one of the key challengesof the urban water supply sector.

6.2.17 According to various studies, most citiesare unable to operate and maintain the existingsystems to the full capacity. The capacity utilizationhas been reported to be less than 50 pe rcent in 40per cent of the towns, and less than 75 per cent ina further 20 per cent of towns. There is grave dangerthat cities may, in many instances slip back to lesserlevels of water supply, due to poor maintenance anddepletion of sources even as the populationcontinues to grow. This may lead to a situationwhere the per capita availability of water by 2020may actually decrease, unless corrective action istaken expeditiously.


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6.2.18 There are wide variations among towns interms of quantity of water supplied, per capitasupply, achievement of normative supply, durationof supply, etc. In the case of slums, which aregenerally provided public stand-posts, there arewide variations in the availability and averagenumber of households per stand. Wherever groundwater is the main source, the over-exploitation ofaquifers, depletion of water resources, and pollutionby urban human wastes, are causing seriousproblems. Water supply and sanitation are, aboveeverything else, issues in environmental health.There is a close link between water and sanitationrequirements because availability of adequate wateris essential for proper sanitation practices.

Finances of Water Supply and SewerageServices

6.2.19 The general financial position of the urbanwater supply and sewerage sector is very poor. Onlya few providers in large urban areas generatesufficient revenues to make any contribution toinvestment. In medium and small towns theseentities typically do not collect sufficient revenue tocover operating expenses. There is no matching ofrevenues against expenditures. Collection efficiencyis very low. A major cause of poor financial health islow tariff, resulting in direct subsidy. There is anattempt at cross-subsidization from commercial andindustrial consumers to domestic consumers.According to one study, 76 percent of theresponding towns did not raise sufficient revenuesfrom water supply to cover the revenue expenditureon the service.

6.2.20 Institutions dealing with water supply andsanitation have very little autonomy on personneland financial matters. Information systemsnecessary for effective management are generallylacking.

6.2.21 Water tariffs and the methods of levyingthem vary considerably from very low to reasonablerates. The methods in vogue in Indian cities includeany or a combination of the following : water tax,flat rates, slab rates and volumetric rates.

6.2.22 In the past, when municipal functions werefew and the pressure on infrastructure was not as

intense as today, many local bodies found it possibleto meet the costs of water supply from generalrevenues. Property owners who paid taxes wereassured of water supply free of any charges, up toan agreed level. With additional demand being metfrom water supply schemes executed at highercosts, the free supply became infeasible, but therewas resistance to paying more in the absence of ademonstrated improvement in service quality. Theprevailing ‘subsidy culture’ has been largelyresponsible the reluctance to raise tariffs,notwithstanding the fact that lack of resources isone of the major causes for poor standards ofservice and maintenance, and inability to expandthe system to cater to additional demand.

6.2.23 The resultant unsatisfactory servicestandards has now created a vicious circle of poorservice–leading to low tariff because of lesswillingness to pay–leading to poor resource position–leading to poor maintenance and poor service.Although surveys show consumer willingness to payhigher tariffs, increases, if they are to be acceptable,must be accompanied by substantial improvementsin service quality.

Institutional Arrangements for Financing andExecution of Water Supply Schemes

6.2.24 Water supply and sanitation schemes arecapital intensive and, consequently, they arefinanced from the budget, borrowings from financialinstitutions or the market, and external fundingagencies. Most State Governments have a policyrelating to the financing pattern of the schemes,with shares for the ULB, State Government, andinstitutional finance. The Central Governmentprovides assistance through the centrally sponsoredscheme of Accelerated Urban Water Supply(AUWS) programme. The five cities covered underthe Mega City scheme have been able to avail itsfunds for water supply and sanitation, and in theTenth Plan, it is proposed that the scheme ofIntegrated Development of Small and MediumTowns may permit a similar facility.

6.2.25 The rationale for financing water supplyschemes fully or partly through grant funds, is notalways clear or consistent. In instances where thecapital costs per capita are excessive due to


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distance of the source, multi-stage pumping or waterquality problems exist, and where the number ofurban poor requiring targeted subsidy is large, thereis need for a capital grant from the Government.Grants ranging from 20 to 50 per cent of the projectcost are being provided, but many large cities havereceived external assistance which has beenpassed on fully as grants.

6.2.26 Instances where ULBs have raised fundsin the domestic financial markets on their ownstrength, have been very few. HUDCO has beenfinancing water supply projects for the past 30 years,especially those in small and medium towns, againstState Government guarantee. As much as 28 percent of the cumulative loan sanctions for urbaninfrastructure of HUDCO is towards water supply.During the Ninth Plan period, HUDCO hassanctioned 101 water supply schemes for financialassistance of Rs 4,828 crore. The schemes includewater supply augmentation, rehabilitation, extensionas well as new schemes with development of sourcefor unserviced areas. State Governments haveroutinely stood guarantee to borrowings fromHUDCO and have in many instances, alsoundertaken to bear the repayment obligation of suchloans.

6.2.27 Water supply and sanitation works aregenerally executed by the state public healthengineering division which is a Department of theState Government, or a state- level Board orCorporation dealing exclusively with water/sanitation or infrastructure in general. In themetropolitan cities with their own water supply andsewerage boards, these bodies have executed theworks with financial assistance from the sourcesmentioned earlier. Though water supply andsanitation are essentially municipal functions to bedischarged by the ULBs, these bodies are unableto take any significant initiative because of theirweak financial position. As a result action is rarelytaken to augment supplies or effect improvementswhen they are most needed.

6.2.28 In most states, there is an unhealthyoverlapping of responsibilities between the and thestate-level Board/Department/Corporation, whichleads to dilution of responsibility for project andservice quality and accountability to the consumers.

ULBs who are the ultimate owners of the schemes,have little say in project specifications, project costor quality control, or given assistance for subsequentoperation and maintenance (O & M) of the scheme.It is quite common to see the individual city watersupply schemes being tossed around between theparastatal and the ULB for O & M, customer service,billing and collection, etc.

6.2.29 The main problem in financing of urbanwater supply and sanitation is the sustainability ofthe present model which is heavily dependent onthe State Governments’ willingness and capacity toprovide guarantees for institutional finance, apartfrom meeting the agreed state share of the projectcost. Inability of the states to provide committedshares of project costs, and the tendency to sanctionmore works than financially feasible, has led to asituation of large numbers of incomplete works,project delays, and cost over-runs.

6.2.30 Some ULBs have initiated innovative costrecovery mechanisms, such as advance registrationcharges, connection charges, betterment charges,water tax, and application of general revenues andother receipts to meet part of the cost of capitalworks. However such instances are relatively rare.To encourage reform measures and prompt ULBsto become viable entities to access market funds,instruments such as the City Challenge Fund andthe Pooled Finance Development Fund have beenproposed in the Tenth Plan. Under the UrbanReforms Incentive Fund, financial strengthening ofthe municipal bodies through reforms and betterenforcement of both property taxes and usercharge, is a key objective.

Conservation, Augmentation, and Recyclingof Urban Water

6.2.31 So far, there has been little or no thrust onconserving water either in the mega cities or in thesmaller ones. For example, Delhi claims to supplywater at the rate of 225 lpcd whereas cities likeLondon supply only 150 lpcd In most cities, largequantities of potable water is used for non-potableuses, while treatment of waste water and its re-usecontinue to be neglected. The following measuresshould be taken by all ULBs in order to optimiseavailable water and conserve water sources:


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Ø Water tariff should be set at levels thatdiscourage excessive use. Water-efficientsystems for flushing should be mademandatory. Conservation of water shouldbe a recurring theme for both users as wellas those managing the water supplysystem.

Ø Leakages and unaccounted for water isanother constraint in cities. Due to old andrusted pipes or poor maintenance of thesystem, these losses sometimes go up to50 per cent. These must be controlled andbrought to the minimum level. Severepenalties should be levied on those foundresponsible for leakage and wastage ofwater.

Ø Reuse of treated sewage must be givenpriority in view of the fact that water is goingto become more scarce in the near future.With tertiary treatment, water from treatedsewage can be used even for air-conditioning, industrial cooling and othernon-potable uses. This should be made athrust area.

Ø Use of potable water for purposes likewashing of vehicles, maintenance ofgardens, etc. should be prohibited. Inurban concentrations, dual supply of

potable and non-potable water should beundertaken. For non-potable domesticuses, tubewells should be permitted to besunk, subject to the construction of apercolation structure in the premises. Thiswill conserve potable water withoutaffecting ground water availability.

Ø Rainwater harvesting should beimplemented widely. This has been takenup as a thrust area in Chennai and Delhiand must be given priority in all towns inthe country. The Delhi Jal Board has takenup more than 80 works to harvest rainwater and intends to cover about 200buildings. The Delhi Government hasapproached the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment and Poverty Alleviation toamend building bye-laws to make rainwater harvesting mandatory in the Capital.During the Tenth Plan, it shall be madeobligatory for all urban areas to adopt rain-water harvesting as a part of the buildingbye-laws.

Ø Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) isengaged in developing techniques forartificial re-charge of ground water, whichshould be implemented where conditionsare appropriate. Similarly the exploitationof ground water in urban areas must be

BOX : 6.2.2A BLUEPRINT FOR WATER AUGMENTATION IN DELHI

A study carried out in 1999 identified numerous avenues for augmentation of water in Delhi. Theseincluded:Ø On-channel storage and recharge of storm water channels.Ø Off-channel storage for floodwater.Ø Storage in lakes and depressions.Ø Floodplain reservoirs for conjunctive extraction.Ø Quarries, historical water-bodies, check-dams, paleo-channels, village ponds.Ø Rooftop water harvesting, and ecoparks.

It was estimated that a total volume of over 980 MCM of water would be harvested, with an estimatedannual recharge exceeding 71 MCM as a result. The estimated cost of the engineering works and landacquisition costs involved was Rs. 1,360 crore, which works out to Rs. 1.30 crore per MCM of capitalcost, as compared to an average of Rs. 4 crore per MCM of capital cost for water obtained from upstreamHimalayan reservoirs.

(Source: INTACH Natural Heritage Division)


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constantly monitored in order prevent thedrying up of this important source.

SUMMING UP

6.2.32 The unfinished tasks in water supply inurban areas may be summed up as augmentationto reach the prescribed norms, higher degree ofreliability, assurance of water quality, a high standardof operation and management, accountability tocustomers and in particular special arrangementsto meet the needs of the urban poor, and levy andrecovery of user charges to finance themaintenance functions as well as facilitate furtherinvestment in the sector. The achievement of thesetasks depends to a large on the willingness of theState Governments and ULBs to make restructurewater supply organisations, levy reasonable waterrates, take up reforms in billing, accounting andcollection, and become credit-worthy in order tohave access to market funding. In addition,measures suggested earlier for conservation, re-use, and re-charging of water sources, should betaken up.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN IN THE TENTH PLANFOR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY ANDSUSTAINABILITY

6.2.33 Efficiency Enhancement Steps in ULBs:The solution to water supply problem is often seenas capacity addition, rather than operating theexisting capacity more efficiently. This bias in favourof new projects is partly on account of the lack ofaccountability on the part of the agencies at bothlocal and the State levels, because inefficientmanagement of schemes goes un-noticed. Efficientoperation of existing water supply schemes is thecritical first step in any move to make the schemesoperate in a viable fashion, by increasing availability,improving reliability and customer service, andreducing cost. While additional schemes willaugment availability, it will not improve either theviability of the schemes, or lead to greater customersatisfaction as the quality of service will remain thesame. Since the low quality of service is the singlebiggest obstacle to the levy of reasonable usercharges, efficient operation will also help improveacceptability of higher user charges.

ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE TO GROUND WATER THROUGH CHECKDAMS IN JNU AND IIT, NEW DELHI

The Central Ground Water Board had taken up a project of artificial recharge of ground water in theJawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) area. A watershed of about10 sq. km. area comprising of JNU, IIT, Sanjay Van and its surrounding area was selected. The JNUcampus has a weathered quartzite formation while in IIT the formation is alluvium. Around 0.46 MCMwater was going as surface runoff from the area. To harness the available runoff, three check-damswere constructed in JNU and one check-dam in the IIT campus. A study during the 1998 monsoonrevealed that about 76,000 cum of water was recharged to ground water. The rise in water level was inthe range of 0.97 to 13.7 m, benefiting an area of about 74 hectares. The results indicate that thesestructures are suitable in the Delhi ridge area as well as alluvial areas if sufficient space is available forthe creation of reservoirs.

MODIFICATIONS NOTIFIED BY MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTYALLEVIATION FOR RAIN WATER HARVESTING IN DELHI

Clause 22.4 Part-III (Structural Safety and Services) of Building Bye-laws, 1983

22.4.1 Water harvesting through storing of water runoff including rainwater in all new buildings on plotsof 100 sq. meters and above will be mandatory. The plans submitted to the local bodies shall indicatethe system of storm water drainage along with points of collection of rain water in surface reservoirs orin recharge wells. These provisions will be applicable as per the Public Notice (s) of Central GroundWater Authority issued from time to time.

22.4.2 All buildings having a minimum discharge of 10,000 litres and above per day shall incorporate awaste water re-cycling system. The re-cycled water should be used for horticultural purposes.


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6.2.34 The decision to take up an augmentationproject should be preceded by a detailed studyof the needs of consumers, and the possibility ofmanaging the available capacity more efficiently.The exercise should be in three parts and shouldbe made by each city/town seeking augmentationof water supply. In fact, in view of its significanceto improving the quality of civic services, theexercise should be carried out for every town andcity:

6.2.35 Diagnostic Study of the OperationalStatus of Existing Investments : The first partwill be a diagnostic study of the investmentalready made, to determine the level at whichthe capacity created is currently being operated,assessment of losses, causes of under-performance, and identification of componentsto be improved or restored. Leakage detectionshall be carried out to determine the extent ofphysical loss, and the measures needed toreduce unaccounted for water will be identified.This will lead to an assessment of the additionalquantity which can be made available throughimprovement of the system by restoration of itsinstalled capacity and more efficient operation.Issues in water quality, reliability and regularityof supply, and inadequacies of the distributionsystem, will also be studied.

6.2.36 Review of Practices in Management andFinance : This will involve an examination of existingtariff and revenue collection to determine theadequacy of resources for proper O & M of thesystems and, where applicable, for debt servicing.It will also examine the management structure,personnel, budgeting, and delegation of powers tothe water and sanitation wing. The existingarrangements for attending to consumer needs,complaints, water quality assurance, and equity indistribution, will also be examined as measures toenhance customer satisfaction.

6.2.37 Assessment of Investment Needs –

Ø Restoration and Renovation :Assessment of the investment needs ofsystem improvement, for pluggingleakages, for ensuring more equitabledistribution, and measures required to be

taken for managerial autonomy andperformance improvement has to bemade.

Ø Augmentation : Outline of a proposal foraugmenting supply and improvingdistribution (including storage andtreatment of water), with identification ofpossible sources, and line estimation ofcost, will be prepared.

6.2.38 The study should preferably be carriedout initially by the state-level water and sanitationagency (PHE Division, Water and SanitationBoard, etc.) in association with the concernedULB. Experts should be engaged to help in thestudy in respect of particularly complex cases.Residents’ associations and non-governmentorganisations should also be associated in thestudy.

6.2.39 Implementation of EffiencyEnhancement Measures : After establishing theviability of investments through revision of tariff andefficiency of collection, the resources availableunder schemes such as the IDSMT, the Mega CityProject, the Urban Reforms Incentive Fund, and theproposed City Challenge Fund and the scheme forRejuvenation of Culturally Significant Cities whenlaunched, should be tapped to make the necessaryinvestments, in addition to State budgetary supportand institutional finance. Maximum emphasis shouldbe placed on restoration of designed capacity andachievement of full capacity utilisation, leakagedetection and remedial action, because it willprevent wastage, reduce costs and increaseavailability, apart from preventing contamination ofwater. Water quality should be made a consumerright. A committee of citizens/users should beformed to create awareness of quality issues, andto monitor the process of water treatment anddisinfection. Adequate levy of user charges, andputting O & M arrangements in place must also beensured. At the same time, the O&M costs,especially the staff costs, must be controlled asmany towns have excess staff in water supplydivisions, with low employee productivity.

6.2.40 The issue of management of watersupply schemes as utilities in the public service


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sphere, must be re-emphasised. While privatesector participation, and public-privatepartnerships can be beneficial in certain cases,the need for capacity building and organisationalrestructuring as public utilities is also an importantissue which must not be lost sight of. During theTenth Plan, there will be concerted action to improvethe performance of the water supply utilities in thepublic sphere. Greater accountability of personnelshould be ensured by appropriate organizationalrestructuring, adoption of modern managementmethods, strict supervision, amendments to therules of service, and measures for training andmotivation. A set of selected pilot projects of thisnature will be taken up under the supervision of theCPHEEO, which will help establish the process,procedures, and utility of such efforts.

Financing of Water Supply Schemes UnderCentral Plan

6.2.41 Sustained efforts by State Governments withsupportive Central assistance and institutional finance,have ensured that urban centres have one or moreexisting water supply schemes. Most new watersupply schemes including those under the AUWS,are augmentation schemes. Such schemes, whilenecessary where supplies are inadequate, should betaken up after ensuring that the earlier schemes arebeing operated optimally as indicated in this Chapter.

Objective of Plan Assistance

6.2.42 The objective of provision of assistanceunder various Centrally Sponsored Schemes is tohelp the ULBs to achieve viable water supplyschemes by defraying part of the cost of project,especially where the costs are high on account ofreasons beyond the control of the local authorities.However, having provided part assistance, theschemes should thereafter be operated oncommercial lines.

6.2.43 Assistance from Central Government forwater supply and sanitation need to be clearly aimedat projects with high cost where a grant componentis called for to make the project feasible and credit-worthy. The assistance should also be geared tomeet the needs of the urban poor amongbeneficiaries who may not be able share any partof the project cost, and to small towns with limited

resources. Additionally, transitional costs ofrestructuring such as investment towards renovationand modernization of schemes for higher efficiencywhich will lead to sector reforms, may also be met.The level of grant assistance should therefore bespecific to each project rather than be an across-the-board amount at a fixed per cent. A ceiling of50 percent may, however, be placed in order toensure that the schemes are designed aseconomically as possible.

6.2.44 The state which seeks Central assistanceshould have implemented reform measures suchas setting up an independent regulatory regime,levying of user charges, and providing autonomyand functional powers to the professional teamsmanaging water supply and sanitation.

6.2.45 Presently, state organizations such asthe PHE Division or a state Water Supply Boardpresently have monopoly of project execution.The relationship between the ULB and theparastatal should be clear and based on mutualagreement, which will bind the parastatal orDepartment to quality and timely completion, withpenal provision for delays and unacceptablequality of work. Opportunity should also be givento private sector consultancies to design andsupervise projects, creating a competitiveenvironment in which the public and privatesectors have level playing field.

6.2.46 Local contribution should not normally beless than 10 percent of the project cost, and shouldbe recovered from the beneficiaries of the schemein advance of the project. The urban poor need notbear any part of the cost, and their share will bemet by grants. Project details, including projectedaugmentation in water supply, cost and contractualdetails, and likely tariff, should be made availableto the urban citizens.

SECTOR REFORMS

6.2.47 The reforms required relate to making thesector more professionally managed, with adequateautonomy and financial powers, and levy of usercharges preferably determined by an independentregulatory authority. By the end of the Tenth Plan,the target would be to recover full O & M coststhrough levy of user charges.


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6.2.48 It would be paradoxical if, on the one hand,urban utilities receive assistance from Governmentand its agencies like HUDCO without reformconditionalities, while, on the other hand, States aregiven additional financial support towardsimplementing reforms in the form of the newschemes such as Urban Reforms Incentive Fund,the City Challenge Fund, etc. The institutionalrestructuring and levy of user charges must beimplemented in all schemes under which assistanceis provided for developing urban infrastructure, andnot only as a special reform programme. In fact aspecial reform financing arrangement may not havebecome necessary, had the proper policies beenfollowed from the beginning.

Meeting the Needs of the Urban Poor

6.2.49 There is a need to modify the approach tothe supply of water to the clusters of the poor.Instead of making them dependent on public stand-posts, households willing to take individualconnections should be giventhese, subject tonormal payment conditions. Funds under theNational Slum Development Programme (NSDP),Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY), andEIUS funds could, however, be used to meet partof the cost of individual connections also. This willreduce the drudgery related to collection of waterfrom the public stand-posts, and enable the poor toreach a higher standard of hygiene and health.

6.2.50 Where stand-posts must continue to be thesource of water, the number of such stand-postsshould be adequate for the population being served.There are successful examples of communitysupervision of the stand-posts. Community groupsshould be made responsible for maintenance ofhygiene around stand-posts, for maintenanceincluding prevention of wastage, and for collectionof user charges from each household attached tothe stand-post.

Review of Ninth Plan Schemes: Centrally-Sponsored Accelerated urban water SupplyProgramme (AUWSP)

6.2.51 The Centrally sponsored AcceleratedUrban Water Supply Programme was launched in1993-94 during the Eighth Plan. It aims at providing

water supply in towns with a population of less than20,000 as per the 1991 census. A total of 2151towns qualify for consideration under the scheme.The project funding is shared equally by Centre andState, the latter including a 5 percent contributionfrom the beneficiary town. The Centre meets theentire cost in Union Territories. State-wise share inthe Plan allocation is based on a weightage systembased on population, incidence of poverty, etc.Priority has to be given for towns with specialproblems such as very low per capita supply, verydistant or deep water source, drought-prone areas,areas with excess salinity, fluoride, iron content inwater source and high incidence of water-bornediseases. The per capita unit cost is normally limitedto Rs 1000, which can be relaxed if thee is sufficientjustification.

6.2.52 Till 15th March 2002, schemes have beenapproved in 654 towns with an estimated cost ofRs 817.70 crore. Of this 223 schemes at anestimated cost of Rs 212.01 crore were approvedduring the Eighth Plan. A total of Rs 337.37 crorehave been released by Government of India, ofwhich Rs 68.624 crore were released in the EighthPlan. The State Governments have released anamount of Rs 244.1 crore towards their share. Theexpenditure reported is Rs 390.33 crore. A total of240 projects under the AUWSP are reported to havebeen completed.

6.2.53 Both sanctions and project completionhave fallen short of the targets. The average timetaken from sanction to completion is about two tothree years. Insufficient flow of project funds fromthe State Governments, land acquisition delays, andinadequacies in project management in some ofthe executing agencies have been responsible forthe delay in project execution, resulting in a largenumber of schemes being carried over into the 10th

Plan.

6.2.54 Out of 240 completed projects, 98 are inthe State of Uttar Pradesh. Other States which havemade substantial progress in completed projects,are Madhya Pradesh (30), Tamil Nadu (25),Rajasthan (15), Maharashtra (12), Karnataka (8),Chattisgarh (9), Punjab (8), Gujarat (6), Orissa (6),and Manipur (5), and Himachal Pradesh (5).Haryana has completed four projects, West Bengal


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three, and Goa and Mizoram two each. In theStates of Jammu & Kashmir, and Nagaland, oneproject each has been completed.

6.2.55 The Working Group on UrbanDevelopment for the Tenth Plan has recommendedcontinuation of AUWSP in towns with populationless than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census. This willmake 2,433 towns eligible for assistance under thescheme.

6.2.56 In the Tenth Plan, the following measuresmust be taken to ensure that there is no slacknessin the implementation of the scheme:

6.2.57 Land acquisition must be done prior tosanction of the scheme. No scheme should be givenCentral sanction unless the land has been acquiredin advance.

6.2.58 In regard to project preparation andexecution, the role of the PHE Division or the StateWater and Drainage Board, should be redefined ashas been indicated in the Chapter 6.1 – UrbanDevelopment.

6.2.59 Given the many factors causing delays inprojects, advance planning for all projects to betaken up during the Tenth Plan should beundertaken in the first year of the Plan period. Eachstate’s indicative allocation of Central assistanceunder the scheme during the Tenth Plan periodshould be communicated during 2002-03 so thatthe states can also make corresponding provisionin their Tenth Plan, and proceed with projectselection and preparation. Additional funds shouldbe provided to states who excel in performance. Atthe time of Plan discussions itself it should beensured that the state share in the scheme isprovided in adequate measure in yearly budgets.The State should preferably deposit its share inadvance into the account of the implementingagency before the Central share is released. Statesshould be encouraged to use their allocation underthe Urban Reforms Incentive Fund for execution ofurban infrastructure schemes. In order to simplifythe procedure for sanctioning projects during theTenth Plan, state level Project SanctioningCommittees will be formed instead of referringprojects to the Central Government. It is also

Box : 6.2.3Problems faced in AUWSP Projects

AUWSP projects, wherever completed, haveresulted in improved availability of water supplyin the towns, even going up to 70 lpcd. However,several drawbacks in the implementation ofAUWSP schemes, and after completion, havebeen noticed:

The following obstacles to successfulimplementation of the projects have beenreported:

l Changing priority lists by the StateGovernments;

l non-submission or delay in submissionof Detailed Project Reports (DPRs);

l DPRs not conforming to guidelines;l delays at the State level in according

administrative approval, and in releaseof State share; and

l delays in land acquisition.

The Problems in operation of the schemes are:

l Despite increases in revenue collection, theoverall annual revenue generation is lessthan the actual O&M expenditure in mostcases.

l The local bodies are not willing to take overthe schemes for O & M because of lack ofexpertise, financial constraints, and becausethe schemes have not been executed/completed in all respects as per theapproved designs. Despite this, the Stateimplementing agencies have handed overthe schemes. In some cases, non-executionof staff quarters and compound walls haveresulted in unauthorised encroachments onthe project land.

l The most serious problems seem to beabsence of manpower required for themaintenance of such capital-intensiveprojects, and resource crunch for O&M dueto low levels of tariff and low collectionefficiency. ‘Negligence to some extent’ wascited as one more reason for poor O&M. Thepoor status of power supply has affected theefficient running of the installations.

l Though disinfection units have beeninstalled, they are not being used in somecases.


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proposed that the Central grant be given directlyto the State implementing agencies.

6.2.60 The Ministry should closely monitorprogress of the scheme on a regular basis and anyslackness or delay brought to the notice of the statefor corrective action.

6.2.61 The scheme should be transferred to theULB for maintenance after ensuring that it hasqualified personnel who have been properly trainedin the O & M needs of the scheme. Levy of usercharges adequate to cover the full cost of O & Mshould be built into the scheme through anagreement between the State Government, theimplementing agency, and the ULB.

6.2.62 The Working Group on Urban Develop-ment, Water Supply and Sanitation, and UrbanEnvironment, has recommended that 100 per centCentral grant may be given for implementation ofwater supply schemes in small towns under AUWSP.However, rather than increase the outlay for individualwater supply schemes, in view of the relative neglectof sanitation issues in the past, there is need toenlarge the scope of the scheme to include sanitation,especially basic sanitation such as waste water /sewage treatment, solid waste disposal, and surfacedrainage. The town which is provided assistanceunder AUWSP (to be renamed Accelerated UrbanWater Supply and Sanitation Project – AUWSSP),should be bound by an agreement to take up such acomprehensive package of sanitation and watersupply augmentation, and the subsidy under thescheme should be made available to thesecomponents also. Simultaneously, the town shouldalso implement Low Cost Sanitation (LCS)programme in parallel, for which the allocationsavailable under LCS should be utilized.

6.2.63 There is a need to subject the projectstaken up until now under AUWSP to post-evaluationto assess their actual performance sincecommissioning. The Ministry of Urban developmentwill undertake this exercise in the Tenth Plan.

URBAN SANITATION

6.2.64 The 54th round of NSS reported that 26per cent of households reported using no latrine,

35 per cent reported using septic tank, and 22 percent reported using sewerage system. Thisindicates that as many as 43 per cent of householdsin urban areas either had no latrines or noconnection to a septic tank or sewerage. As regardswaste disposal, 71 per cent of urban householdsreported removal of household waste by householdmembers, 14 per cent by local authorities, and 12per cent by private agreement among residents.Forty-seven percent of urban households reportedremoving of their waste to community dumping spot,and 30 per cent, to individual dumping spots. Ninetyper cent of urban households reported concernregarding mosquitoes, 66 per cent regarding fliesand 50 per cent regarding problems related to foulodour.

6.2.65 Estimates of access to excreta disposalsystems in urban areas vary from a low 48 percentto a high 70 percent. Out of 300 Class-I cities, about70 have partial sewerage systems and sewagetreatment facilities. Levels of sewage treatment arereported to be very low. A study by the CentralPollution Control Board in 1994-95 shows that thetotal waste-water generated in 300 Class-I cities isabout 15,800 million litres a day (mld), while thetreatment capacity is hardly 3,750 mld. In the 23metro cities, over 9000 million litres of sewage isgenerated daily, of which about 60 per cent isgenerated in the four mega cities of Mumbai,Kolkata, Delhi, and Chennai. Of the total wastewater generated in the metro cities, hardly 30 percent is treated before disposal. Most of the citieshave only primary treatment facilities. Thus, theuntreated and partially treated municipal wastewaterfinds its way into water sources such as rivers, lakesand ground water, causing water pollution. On theother hand, the programme of Low Cost Sanitation,which offers an affordable alternative technology,has made very little progress, despite being linkedto the social problem of manual scavenging, whichis prohibited by law.

6.2.66 The poor sanitary conditions, particularlyin slums, are often linked to outbreaks of choleraand gastro-enteritis. Water-borne diseases are amajor cause of mortality throughout India andimpose a huge burden in terms of loss of lives andproductivity. According a case study, water andsanitation diseases are responsible for 60 per cent


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of the environmental health burden and over 11per cent of total burden of disease in AndhraPradesh. The single major cause of this burden ofdisease is diarrhea, which disproportionately affectschildren under the age of five.

Low Cost Sanitation

6.2.67 The centrally-sponsored scheme of UrbanLow Cost Sanitation for Liberation of theScavengers started from 1980-81, initially throughthe Ministry of Home Affairs and later through theMinistry of Welfare. From 1989-90, it came underthe jurisdiction of the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment. The main objective of the scheme isto convert the existing dry latrines into low cost pourflush latrines and provide alternative employmentto the liberated scavengers. The rehabilitationcomponent is dealt with by the Ministry of SocialJustice and Empowerment.

6.2.68 Low cost sanitation is rightly seen as animportant solution to the dehumanizing practice ofcarrying night-soil, and the legislation prohibitingmanual scavenging and its enforcement in turnstrengthens the movement for installation of sanitarylatrines in urban areas. Low cost sanitation is alsothe appropriate solution where resources do notpermit the provision of underground sewerage, orseptic tanks. The scheme covers all the householdswhich have dry latrines and households having nosanitation facilities including households in slumsand squatter colonies.

6.2.69 Under the scheme, loan and Centralsubsidy are extended simultaneously by HUDCO.Subsidy is graded according to economic status,being set at 45 per cent for EWS, 25 per cent forLIG, and nil subsidy for middle and high incomegroups. Loan ranging from 50 per cent to 75 percent of the cost, is given at 10 per cent interestrepayable over 15 years. Loan is also given forconstruction of community latrines on ‘pay and use’principle, shared latrines in slums, housing chawls.Subsidy is limited to the cost of the sub-structure,but the HUDCO loan can be availed for theconstruction of super-structure also. The loansrequire State Government guarantee. Formanagement of the programme, HUDCO wasrequired to set up a separate cell, and the regional

offices of HUDCO were expected to renderassistance to the State Governments in theformulation of proposals. The guidelines provide forthe creation of a co-ordination committee at theCentral level, as well as co-ordination committeesat the state level. A recommendation has beenmade to create state-level cells or to nominate anexisting institution for channelising the subsidy andHUDCO loans to the implementing agencies. Thecell may be registered as a society. In the State ofMadhya Pradesh, the Slum Clearance Board wasnominated as the nodal agency.

Progress of the Scheme

6.2.70 According to an estimate prepared by aCommittee constituted by Planning Commission,there were 400,000 scavengers and 5.4 million drylatrines in urban areas in 1989, and the practice ofmanual scavenging continues in 3117 towns. Sevenstates have declared themselves as scavenger free- Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkimand Tripura. Six Union Territories - Andaman &Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Dadra& Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep -have also declared themselves scavenger free.

6.2.71 The number of households without accessto a proper system of removal of human excreta isbound to be much higher than the number of drylatrines estimated by the Committee, because thenumber of households in urban areas without evendry latrines, who use open places for defecation, isestimated to be 7.3 million. Therefore the numberof households in need of low-cost sanitation orcommunity toilet facilities may be as high as 15million, if not more.

6.2.72 The progress of the scheme as on 15March 2002 is as follows:

Financial Progress

Schemes sanctioned - 847No. of towns covered - 1,317Project Cost - Rs. 1,435.51 croreSubsidy sanctioned - Rs. 486.891 croreLoan sanctioned - Rs. 592.69 croresSubsidy released - Rs. 250.67 croresLoan amount released - Rs. 309.18 crore


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Physical ProgressTotal units sanctioned - 35,53,585l Conversion - 17,05,701l Construction - 18,47,884l Community toilets - 3,966

No. of units completed - 14,58,274No. of community toilets completed - 2,982No. of scheme in progressl Conversion - 1,05,619l Construction - 2,12,987l Community toilets - 185

Towns declared scavenger free - 387Scavengers liberated - 37,430

6.2.73 The data indicate that:

Ø In the 9th Plan, no loan or subsidy wassanctioned in Assam, Bihar, Haryana,Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala (declared to befree from manual scavenging), Karnataka,Orissa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Tripura, andAndaman & Nicobar Islands.

Ø Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim,Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradeshhave also not drawn any loan or subsidyunder the scheme since inception.

Ø Nearly 37 per cent of the loan and 24percent of the subsidy has been drawn byAndhra Pradesh, which has beenconsistent both before and during the NinthPlan.

Ø Other major beneficiaries have beenHaryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and WestBengal. These ten States account for 92per cent of both the loan and the subsidyreleased under the scheme. However, inrespect of Haryana and Karnataka, theperformance was only in the period priorto the 9th Plan.

Ø Hardly 13 per cent of dry latrines existingat the beginning of the Eighth Plan havebeen converted into sanitary toilets during

the Eighth Plan period and the first threeyears of Ninth Plan.

Review of the Programme

6.2.74 Apart from the backlog in numbers of units,there are important issues of user acceptance ofthe units installed. Evaluation of the scheme was in1990 in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, in WestBengal in 1991, and in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra in 1994. A‘Benchmark Survey Report for Evolving Communityand Women’s Participation’ for Uttar Pradesh wasprepared with the sponsorship of the World HealthOrganisation in 1994. These evaluations revealedsome of the problems of the programme, andjudging by the lack of any significant progress, theydo not appear to have been adequately attendedto in the Ninth Plan period, during which there wasno evaluation of the scheme.

6.2.75 The reasons put forth for the slow progressare that the subsidy is limited to the sub-structure;the loan amount is small, and numbers ofbeneficiaries involved are large, which has made ita difficult task for the local bodies, who generallydo not have a high performance in collectionefficiency, to recover and re-pay. The states havebeen unwilling to give guarantees for this reason.On the other hand, in keeping with its policy,HUDCO is unable to provide loans because themunicipal finances are in poor shape and mostULBs cannot be funded without state guarantee.

6.2.76 Project management has been weak, withhardly any state establishing an organisationcapable of taking up the task of propagating theprogramme and supervising its implementation.Consequently there has been little effort atdeveloping locally relevant options in sub- andsuper-structure which is responsive to user needsand preferences, using suitable and cost-effectivelocally available materials, training of local craftsmento undertake construction of the units, induction ofNGOs, quality control, user education, etc.Considerable delay due to bureaucratic reasons hasbeen noticed in the States passing on the projectfunds to the implementing agencies. Thanks toweak supervision, defalcation of funds has alsobeen reported in some cases.


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The Importance of Low Cost Sanitation

6.2.77 Towns which do have sewerage do notoften have sewage treatment plants, with the resultthat water sources are getting polluted. It has beenassessed that 80 per cent of pollution is caused bysewage alone. It is infeasible to provideunderground sewerage or septic tank latrines inall cities and for all residents. In the first place, highlyurbanised, industrialised and densely-populatedurban centres may be provided with sewerage, withpriority being given to installing sewage treatmentplants to prevent pollution of water sources. Forthe majority of the urban centres, low cost sanitationis the appropriate technology.

6.2.78 Low cost sanitation is not a programmesolely for the urban poor or slum population. It hasto be propagated as the appropriate solutionwherever the costly option of underground drainageis not feasible. In this sense, there is need to offermore options to households that desire sanitationfacilities which, while being based on the ‘twin-pit-pour-flush’ model, is in keeping with their needs andcapacity to invest. Low cost sanitation is bestpropagated as a part and parcel of the maintenanceof environmental health. This includes the areas ofwater supply, protection of the environment andpreservation of environmental cleanliness, andpromotion of health among infants, expectant andnursing mothers, and children. Within a town or city,the proper approach would be to take up a co-ordinated programme covering sanitation inschools, individual households, and public placeswith special emphasis on the sanitation needs ofthe urban poor and slum-dwellers and pavementdwellers. The practice of focusing on water supplyto the exclusion of sanitation and waste watertreatment, should be given up in the Tenth Plan.

PROGRAMME IMPROVEMENT MEASURES

6.2.79 Rejuvenating the ImplementationOrganization : States should set up a StateSanitation Council to be in overall charge ofsupervision of the programme. The Council shouldbe headed by the Chief Minister or his nominee,and consist of experts, NGOs, representatives ofPRIs and ULBs, HUDCO, other institutions in thefield of environmental sanitation, health workers,

and other concerned officials. The mandate of theCouncil shall be to carry out extensive propagationof the principles of sound practices in hygiene andsanitation, and supervise the programmes ofindividual and community toilets, school toilets, pay-and-use toilets, and water quality. The areas of solidwaste management and waste water treatmentincluding drainage, will also be within the ambit ofthe Council. The Council will implement measuresto promote the concept of sanitary latrines whilebringing home the indignity of open defecation aswell as manual scavenging.

6.2.80 Sanitary latrines have to be promoted aspart of an overall health, sanitation andenvironmental awareness programme, especiallyamong the young. Adequate provision should bemade to meet the cost of information, education,communication (IEC) activities under theprogramme, which seems to be lacking at present.The Task Force had recommended that upto 10per cent of the budget allocation be earmarked forthis component. Out of this, 5 per cent could beutilised for project management and NGOinvolvement. The cost of training of skilled workersshould also be met out of this provision and trainingshould be organised locally with the help of NGOs,Building Centres, and technical institutions. A partof the provision should be used for organising safaikarmacharis (manual scavenging workers) toundertake construction of LCS units.

6.2.81 Use of sub-standard materials andconstruction by untrained workers, in order to cutcosts, may result in units which do not fulfill the userexpectations, and these may be discarded. Thereis a minimum water requirement without which theunit cannot be kept clean and may lead to bad odour.Similarly, the space requirements, and suitability ofsoil must be taken into account before starting workon installing the unit. The guidelines prescribe thedistance to be maintained from a potable watersource to avoid contamination, and this must befulfilled. The users need to be trained to keep theunits clean and free from odour, and regarding theresting period and removal of the contents of thepit. The superstructure must cater to the comfort ofthe users, for protection against rain, privacy, etc.,and has to meet the minimum criteria ofacceptability. These issues will have to be tackled


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to the satisfaction of the users before theprogramme can make headway. Strict standardsfor the construction of the LCS units need to beprescribed and followed in implementation.

6.2.82 The subsidy programme should, however,be based on the cost of the basic twin-pit pour flushmodel for a small household. Subsidy should beextended to cover the super-structure and sub-structure. The unit cost should be determined onthe basis of local costs, and the loans and subsidyprovided accordingly. The householder should havethe option to design a unit that meets hisrequirement. It is suggested that the financingpattern of 50 per cent subsidy and 50 per cent loan,which existed prior to 1988-89 should be restoredduring the Tenth Plan with the further modificationthat it should be available to both the sub-structureand the super-structure.

6.2.83 There should be no distinction between thestates that have scavengers and those that do nothave, because the programme is intended toprevent both manual scavenging as well as opendefecation.

6.2.84 HUDCO should establish state-wise unitsfor the management of the programme to providetechnical and organisational back-up. The ULBsshould be strengthened to undertake the recoveryof loan instalments.

Community / Pay-and-use Toilets

6.2.85 The scheme of low cost sanitation alsoincludes community toilets. HUDCO has reportedthat the number of units sanctioned, completed, andin progress, as follows :

Community Toilet Complex Under ValmikiAmbedkar Awas Yojana

6.2.86 HUDCO is also involved in theimplementation of the pay-and-use toiletsprogramme under the Night-shelters schem, andhas reported sanctioning 69 schemes for pay anduse toilets, under which a subsidy of Rs 14,000per seat is provided. This scheme has now beenmerged with the new scheme of ValmikiAmbedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY), as part ofthe sanitation component of the scheme for which20 percent of the funds are earmarked. Thestand-alone toilet complexes, as distinct from theunits provided in slum housing colonies, willcontinue to be financed under the scheme asearlier.

6.2.87 Community toilets are needed for slumand pavement dwellers, rickshaw pullers and thefloating population. However, the experience ofmaintenance and upkeep of these units bymunicipal authorities has been dismal, with theconditions turning so insanitary that people preferopen air defecation rather than use the publictoilets. The maintenance of the units should,therefore, be handed over to an NGO or acommunity-based organisation. The beneficiarycommunity should pay a small fixed monthlyamount towards upkeep of the toilet and themoney should be used for cleaning, water supply,and remuneration of a caretaker.

6.2.88 The construction and maintenance ofpay-and-use toilets for the floating population orplaces such as bus-stands, markets, parks, andother places were people congregate, should bedone by an NGO like Sulabh International. Insome instances, such installations may evengenerate a surplus. Despite the possibility ofcommercial viability of some of the installations,it is premature, in the view of the Task Force, tobase the programme on assumptions of viability.In the Tenth Plan, therefore, the construction ofcommunity toilets for the urban poor, and of pay-and-use toilets for the floating population shouldcontinue to be supported through subsidy fromthe Central Government.

Sanctioned Completed In Progress

Andhra 158 40 58Pradesh

Karnataka 117 0 0

Maharashtra 2,809 2,663 120

Orissa 10 10 0

Tamil Nadu 372 269 15

Uttar Pradesh 100 0 0

West Bengal 400 0 0


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Treatment of Urban Waste Water

6.2.89 Three-fourths of surface water resourcesare polluted and 80 per cent of the pollution is dueto by sewage alone. On the other hand, in additionto organic matter sewage contains nitrogen,phosphate and potassium in sufficient quantities,which are essential nutrients for plant growth.Sewage is also viewed as an economic source ofmethane fuel. Thus it can be a valuable resourceafter with due treatment and processing.

6.2.90 Water supply has direct linkage withsewage generation. A survey of 345 towns withpopulation between 50,000 and 100,000, revealedthat over 95 per cent of them do not have any wastewater treatment facilities, and disposal on land, anddirect and indirect use for irrigation is thepredominant mode of disposal.

Scheme to Provide Sewerage for River BankTowns

6.2.91 The problem of pollution of river waters isparticularly acute in the case of densely populatedcities located on river banks and which do not haveadequate treatment facilities for sewage or safedisposal of solid waste. In such cases, urban waste- both solid and liquid - finds its way directly into therivers, causing a serious pollution problem. TheMinistry of Environment and Forests is implementinga massive programme of cleaning of rivers and lakesin the country. The programme, which was startedwith the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985, nowextends to the polluted stretches of 27 major riverswith works spread over 149 towns in 16 states. Theapproved cost of these works is nearly Rs. 3,100crore. This is in Addition to the Rs. 450 crore alreadyspent on GAP Phase-I. So far, an amount of Rs. 1,100crore has been spent on the programmes.

BOX: 6.2.4The problems identified in the Ganga Action Plan

l Most of the cities and towns do not have underground sewerage system as well as facilities for sewagetreatment. As a result untreated sewage is discharged into the nearest water body - a river or a lake ora pond.

l To tackle the urban insanitary conditions and pollution of water bodies, an integrated approach coveringall works such as, internal sewerage system, sewage treatment plants, low cost toilets, organised solidwaste management and management of other hazardous wastes is necessary.

l Neither the State Governments nor the ULBs have been able to provide all the required resources forO & M of the existing facilities and the assets created under the programme.. As a result, the plants andfacilities are not being properly maintained. Collection of user charges and funds for service connectionare essential to improve the urban environment. For this, the ‘ownership’ of the units by the ULBsshould be ensured in the first place.

l Technologies for the treatment of sewage are another area of concern. The conventional technologiesrequire electricity which has to be paid for. On the other hand, low cost technologies like ponds requirelarge areas of land that is not easily available in big towns and cities. There is a need to adopt intermediatetechnologies, of which there is a choice. Further research and development needs to be done in thisarea.

l The reduction of bacterial pollution and pathogenic matters is a matter of concern. Conventionaltechnologies do not address this problem adequately. On the other hands, ponds do address this issuebut the availability of land remains a constraint.

l Management of municipal solid waste leaves much to be desired in all towns including capital citieslike Delhi. Run-off from municipal solid waste dumps contain pathogens as well as pollutants, whichfinally reach the nearest water body. In several towns, municipal solid waste is dumped into rivers.Similarly, management of hospital and hazardous wastes is practically non-existent in many largetowns. Requirement of funds for adequate management of solid waste is a major constraint for ULBs.

l Low-cost toilets and on-site treatment facilities can significantly help in minimising generation of wastewater. Public awareness and participation is necessary for improving urban environment. Not muchattention has been given to this issue.


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Urban Waste Water-Action Points for The TenthPlan

Ø There is no scheme under the Ministry ofUrban Development to deal with theproblem of treatment of urban waste water.In view of the importance of the issue forenvironmental health, AUWSP is proposedto be enlarged in the Tenth Plan to includesanitation. Further, the assistance availablein various other schemes such as theIDSMT, the Mega City Project, and theproposed Rejuvenation of CulturallySignficant Cities, will also be applied tosanitation projects, including waste watertreatment.

Ø Sewage water is already widely used inagriculture and horticulture, but the healtheffects of such use need to be studied.Technological solutions with a view todispose treated waste water throughagricultural reuse require furtherdevelopment and implementation.

Ø Replication of innovative models whichhave been successful needs to beensured. One such model is the humanwaste powered water supply in slums inKanpur.

Ø Conventional treatment techniques suchas trickling filters, activated sludgeprocess, extended aeration, aeratedlagoons, oxidation ditches, up-flowanaerobic sludge blanket reactors, contactbiological disk reactors, etc., are all proventechnologies with varying degrees ofefficiencies. Appropriate treatmentsystems have to be selected dependingupon the local conditions and the finalmode of disposal of treatment effluents.In urban areas where land availability is aproblem, these systems are particularlyuseful in treating municipal waste water toa reasonable degree. However, thesesystems are costly from both capital as wellas O&M points of view, and many areenergy intensive as well. As such a majorityof the urban local bodies may not be in a

position to afford such costly treatmentsystems.

Ø Under the circumstances, if sufficient landis available, simple treatment systems,such as stabilisation ponds, duck-weedponds, artificial wet lands may proveeffective. In urban areas where extensivesewerage network has not beenestablished, particularly in the fringe areasof towns and cities, on-site sanitationsystems such as septic tanks, soak pits,twin pit toilets etc. may serve asintermediate technologies. Moreover,decentralised waste treatment systemsmay be adopted to the extent possible.

Ø For waste water treatment and solid waste,several new approaches have beenidentified. On-site waste watermanagement in large housing complexesand townships is one such option. Severallow cost intermediate technology solutionsare available for such decentralized wastewater treatment plants. It should beensured that the appropriate measures aretaken for each location and habitation.

Solid Waste Management

6.2.92 India produces about 42 million tons ofurban solid waste annually. The per capita wastegeneration varies between 0.2 kg. to 0.6 kg. perday, and the current municipal solid wastegeneration is estimated to be approximately 0.4 kgper capita per day.

6.2.93 It has been estimated that because of theincreasing per capita waste generation of about 1.3per cent per year, and the growth of urbanpopulation of between 3 and 3.5 per cent perannum, the yearly increase in the overall quantityof solid waste in the cities is about 5 per cent. Urbanwaste management by the ULBs is already understress because of poor resources and inadequaciesof the system. Unless concerted efforts are madeto improve the flow of resources to solid wastemanagement and build up systems whichincorporate the basic requirements of a properwaste management practice, the problem of urban


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waste will be further aggravated and causeenvironmental health problems. The compositionof urban waste is another factor to consider, withincreasing use of packaging material made of bothpaper as well as plastic

6.2.94 In October 2000, the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests notified the MunicipalSolid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules,2000, which lay down the procedures/guidelines forcollection, segregation, storage, transportation,processing, and disposal of municipal solid waste.The rules require that all cities should set up suitablewaste treatment and disposal facilities by 31December 2001. The rules also specify standardsfor compost quality, leachate control, andmanagement and closure of landfill sites.

6.2.95 A comprehensive manual on MunicipalSolid Waste Management has been brought out byCPHEEO for the guidance of ULBs. This manualwas prepared by an expert group consisting ofvarious bodies such as the CPHEEO, CentralPollution Control Board, National EnvironmentalEngineering Research Institute, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, ULBs, academicinstitutions, etc. In pursuance of Supreme Courtdirections in 1996, a Technology Advisory Groupfor improving solid waste management in thecountry has also been set up by the Ministry ofUrban Development, with three core groups to dealwith appropriate technologies and R & D, financialresources and private sector participation, and oncapacity building, human resource development andIEC.

6.2.96 Waste management in the cities isreceiving attention from a number of departmentsrelating to health, environment, agriculture, non-conventional energy, as well as urban development.Participants are not only government bodies butinclude NGOs, CBOs and the private sector as wellas research organisations.

6.2.97 The problem of urban waste managementis notable not only for the large quantities involvedbut also its spatial spread across over 5000 ULBsand the enormity and variety of problems faced bythem in setting up and managing systems forcollection, transportation, and disposal of waste. In

fact, in the municipal budgets the staff salariesrelating to solid waste management are normallyamong the largest items, accounting for up to halfof the total municipal staff. It is estimated that theULBs spend about Rs 500 to Rs 1500 per ton onwaste collection, transportation, treatment anddisposal, most of it on collection and transportationand very little on disposal and treatment, and 75 to80 per cent of this expenditure is on staff salaries.In spite of this, collection efficiencies range from50 to 90 per cent of the waste that is generated.Localities of the urban poor and slums are likely tobe the ones most neglected, exposing the residentsto extreme squalor, made unbearable especiallywhen it rains.

6.2.98 While transportation arrangements aregenerally inadequate due to the unavailability of theright kind of vehicles, and low productivity of thepersonnel, the major problem is that ofindiscriminate disposal in open spaces, roadmargins, tank beds, etc. A survey by the CPCB onthe status of municipal solid waste managementreported indiscriminate dumping of garbage in openlands. There have been studies of the public healthimpacts and pollution of surface and ground watersresulting from the liquid and solid waste disposalpractices of the small and medium towns. Sanitarylandfills designed and constructed so as to preventcontamination of ground water, creation of stench,and other forms of environmental hazards, arelargely absent. Studies of the existing landfill sitesand their environmental effect are yet to be takenup. The ULBs find it hard to raise resources toacquire suitable land, and lack the technicalcapability to design a proper sanitary landfill facility.There is need to prevent dumping in open spacesand introduce sanitary landfill.

6.2.99 Resources for solid waste management isgenerally met out of the overall property tax receiptsof the ULB, though some states provide for ageneral purpose tax to which surcharges towardsspecific services such as sanitation, water supply,etc. are added on.

6.2.100 Promotion of composting of urban solidwaste was implemented by the Ministry of Food andAgriculture in the 1960s through soft loans to ULBs.Block grants and loans were given to State


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Governments in the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74) for setting up composting plants. The Suratplague epidemic in 1994 highlighted theinadequacies and risks inherent in poor solid wastemanagement. The Bajaj Committee in 1995 madea number of recommendations including wastesegregation at source, primary collection, levy ofuser charges, use of appropriate equipment andvehicles, focus on sanitary land filling andcomposting, and encouraging private sectorparticipation.

6.2.101 Post-Surat the country saw theemergence of more than 35 waste treatmentprojects between 1995 and 2000, with privatesector participation, mostly for compostingfacilities. There has been increased awarenessand people’s participation in solid wastemanagement. NGOs and CBOs have begun toparticipate in this movement and have found wideacceptance among municipal and StateGovernment functionaries. Private sectorparticipation has been encouraged with a viewto economy in cost, efficiency, introduction of newtechnologies, and more effective service delivery.Municipal bodies have engaged private sectoragencies for different activities such as streetcleaning and collection of solid waste, itstransportation, as well setting up compostingplants. Experience in such cases has shown thatwith suitable agreement being reached onprovision of land, supply of solid waste, andwhere appropriate, sharing of capital cost, theprivate sector and NGOs can assist in setting upcompost plants.

6.2.102 There have been important developmentsin terms of guidelines, rules and regulations duringthe Ninth Plan period. These are:

Ø Constitution of a Committee by the Hon’bleSupreme Court of India in 1998 to look intoall aspects of solid waste management inthe Class I cities of India and submit areport to the Court for further direction. Thereport was submitted in March 1999.

Ø Constitution of a Technology AdvisoryGroup on Solid Waste Management underthe Ministry of Urban Development andPoverty alleviation, Government of India,pursuant to the recommendations of theCommittee on Solid Waste Managementfor Class I cities constituted by theSupreme Court, to identify proventechnologies, provide technical assistanceto ULBs, channelise funds earmarked forsolid waste management in variousministries, develop IEC material andpromote capacity building of ULBs.

Ø Notification of Bio-medical Waste(Management and Handling) Rules, 1998by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,which also incorporates comprehensiveguidelines for selection of technologies andspecifications for bio-medical waste apartform the rules and regulations, time frameto be followed and the duties andobligations of the generators of such wasteand operators of facilities.

Ø Notification of Municipal Waste(Management and Handling) Rules, 2000by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,which also incorporates comprehensiveguidelines for the selection of technologiesand specifications apart from the rules andregulations and time frame to be followed.

Ø Publication of the Manual on MunicipalSolid Waste Management by the Ministryof Urban Development, in May 2000.

6.2.103 The initiatives of the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources and the Ministry ofAgriculture during the Eighth Plan were not onlycontinued but their scope and extent werebroadened. The Ministry of Environment andForests also has provided incentives in the form ofsubsidy for setting up municipal solid waste basedcompost plants as demonstration projects duringthe Ninth Plan Period.


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Box : 6.2.5Common Waste Treatment Facility

HYDERABAD

Given different treatment systems for compliance of the rules, individual health care establishmentcannot have own arrangements for comprehensive treatment and disposal of the waste generated bythem. Therefore, each town/city should have at least one common treatment facility for the managementof bio-medical waste. A common treatment facility for bio-medical waste has been established at Kothurin Mehboobnagar district near Hyderabad, which is perhaps the first such facility in the country. Thefacility has been established by a private company on a build-own-operate basis. HUDCO has providedfinancial assistance for this project.

The company collects bio-medical waste from health care establishments in Hyderabad andSecunderabad in specially fabricated covered vehicles with compartments for different types of waste.The waste is transported to the Kothur plant. The facility has an incinerator with double chamber, wet-scrubber and a 30 metre high chimney stack. An indigenously manufactured microwave equipment hasbeen installed along with a small standby autoclave for certain categories of bio-medical waste. Thereis a shredder for shredding sterilised waste. There is a secured landfill within the premises for incineratorash and other sterilised waste. The company is planning to install a treatment plant for the wash watergenerated while washing the collection vehicles.

The facility caters to 6,000 beds per day at present and this is likely to increase to more than 10,000beds within a year. The project cost for this facility was Rs 120.62 lakh.

SHILLONG

A common treatment and disposal facility for bio-medical waste is under implementation in the outskirtsof Shillong. The facility would cater to the needs of about 2,000 beds in the Shillong and GreaterShillong area and would consist of a dual chamber incinerator with emission control facility for theanatomical waste and autoclave with steam generating and shredding facility for other bio-medicalwaste. A secured landfill would be created for the incinerator waste whereas the other sterilized wastewould be put in the adjoining sanitary landfill site. Bio-medical waste would be collected from the healthcare establishment by covered vehicles and brought to the common facility by private operators.

Priority Action Areas for Sanitation

Ø Municipal bodies in many parts of thecountry suffer from inadequate resources.Assessment of demand and ‘willingnessto pay’ by the communities, which will helparrive at a basis for pricing wastemanagement services and to clarify thescope for adopting ‘full cost recovery’policies to achieve financial sustainability,should be carried out.

Ø Soil fertility is being affected by excessiveuse of chemical fertilisers without adequateuse of organic manure. The large quantity

of urban waste can be a useful solution tothis problem. Compulsory production ofcompost from urban solid waste in all cities,and promotion of this organic manure inagriculture should be implemented as thismay have a significant positive impact onsoil fertility. Agricultural research andextension services, as well as fertilizerproducers/marketers to be involved inpromoting urban compost (avoidingdumping of urban waste in raw form in thefields) in the neighbouring farms.

Ø Identification and development of lesscapital-intensive ‘intermediate’ waste


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management technologies, andimplementation of known technologieswhich are cost-effective and not dependenton assured power supply, are priorityareas. There is a need for both specialisedtechnological institutions in the field ofenvironmental concerns and NGOs, totake the lead in development andpropagation of such technologies in theurban areas. Programmes in the urban andenvironmental sectors should provide forfinancing of such programmes.

Ø Comprehensive project preparation foreach town and city for both solid and liquidwaste treatment and re-cycling should beundertaken within the next two years.Identification of sites and acquisition of landshould be done, keeping in view a long-term perspective, as availability of land forthese purposes will sharply decline in thenear future.

Ø Fiscal concessions and subsidies areimportant. Transport vehicles for carryingsolid waste may be exempted from excise,sales tax and other duties. A number ofprivate sector and NGO providers oftechnology in this field have been identifiedby the Technology Advisory Group on SolidWaste Management. Private companiesentering in this sector should be grantedsoft loans for the installation of compost-plants, land on lease for a period of 30years, tax holiday, accelerateddepreciation, legal and financial help andsupport. The organic manure produced inthese compost plants should be grantedsome subsidy as in the case fertilisers.

Ø Safe disposal of urban solid waste,especially of hospital waste, is now amandatory requirement on StateGovernments and ULBs. In the interestsof community health and the environment,enforcement and implementation of rulesrelating to bio-medical, municipal solidwaste and hazardous waste has to be verystrict.

Ø Since there is no centrally sponsoredscheme for either waste water treatmentor for solid waste management for urbanareas, the provisions under such schemesas the IDSMT, Mega City Scheme,Scheme of Rejuvenation of CulturallySignificant Cities, and the City ChallengeFund, would have to be made use of forthese purposes. The States should beencouraged to utilise their allocationsunder the Urban Reforms Incentive Fundalso for urban infrastructure works,including sewage/waste water treatmentand safe solid waste disposal.

Ø However, in the Tenth Plan, a new Mission-mode state sector programme named‘Urban Sanitation Mission’, with focus onsetting up sanitary land-fills andcomposting plants for urban solid waste,and improvement to drainage in urbanareas, will be taken up with Special CentralAssistance.

URBAN TRANSPORT

6.2.104 A good network of roads coupled with anefficient mass urban transport system play acatalytic role in urban economic growth, with abeneficial impact on the urban poor. However, thereis a growing trend towards an increasing numberof personalised vehicles, especially two-wheelerswhich account for 60- to 80 per cent of motorvehicles. This results in congestion on the roads,slowing down of traffic and atmospheric pollution.Narrow carriageways and poor road surface add tothe problems. Growing vehicular pollution in citiesis a cause of great concern, as are noise levels andtraffic accidents. Traffic and transport are emergingproblems in many cities which are experiencingheightened economic activity and mobility of people.

6.2.105 Growth of cities leads to a sharp increasein the demand for urban transport facilities.However, the provision of public transport facilitieshas suffered because of a number of reasons. Aspopulation density in cities increases and citiesexpand in are, there is very little planning for thisgrowth, especially for transport needs. Older areassuffered because of lack of resources for developing


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appropriate carriageways and public transportsystems. Capacity constraints of the existing publictransport systems grew worse with densification ofthe inner cities, and increase in land values anddevelopment in excess of the capacity of the existinginfrastructure, made the provision of relief moredifficult.

6.2.106 Seventeen of the 23 largest cities haveorganised bus services, with a combined fleet ofabout 25,000 buses including private buses. Useof urban rail services is extremely limited, with onlythree cities – Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai – havingsuburban rail systems. Phase I of the Delhi MassRapid Transport System is under construction.Except for mega cities, modal split in favour of publictransport is poor and generally less than 20 per cent.

6.2.107 In smaller cities and towns, circulation ofpeople and vehicles is hampered by narrow roads.This is further constrained by the fact that thecarriageway is occupied at the margins by vendors,unauthorised structures, solid and liquid waste, andparking of vehicles. Poor road construction andinadequate maintenance further hamper smoothtraffic flows. Failure to provide for genuinerequirements such as parking areas for lorries andbuses, vehicles for hire as well as for private vehiclesleads to haphazard use of road space and acts asan obstacle to the smooth movement of traffic. Thesolution to these problems is better design andconstruction of roads, provision of parking areasand bus-bays, provision of suitable areas forvendors, and enforcement of traffic regulations.

6.2.108 The transport situation can be improvedby better planning and coordination among thevarious agencies involved, and augmenting thepublic transport system. A meaningful urbantransport policy would need to address the following:

Ø Ensuring the fullest use of availabletransport infrastructure through low-cost

optimisation measures (Transport SystemManagement techniques).

Ø Development, as appropriate, of cost-effective road-based, rail-based and water-based (where applicable) forms of publicsystems and inter-modal integration.

Ø Reducing emissions from motor vehicles.

Ø Land use – Transport integration. Urbantransport has to be recognised as a sub-system of the urban system, and transportplanning has to be given highest priority inurban planning.

Ø Central and State Governments mustprovide higher levels of financial supportfor urban transport projects. Innovativesources of financing must be explored.Schemes of urban investment such as theMega City Project and IDSMT shouldinvariably address the requirements of thetraffic and transport management.

Ø Development of suitable institutionalmechanisms at the national, state and locallevels for the planning, financing,construction and O&M of urbantransportation systems.

Ø Review of the policy of nationalisation ofurban public transport and bringing in thecapital investment and managementcapabilities of the private sector with dueregulation.

Ø Special attention to road-based public bustransport system since it is crucialespecially for the lower income brackets.Increasing the capacity of the public bussystems is a key to reducing congestionon roads in cities. It will also increase theaccess of the urban poor to social andeconomic opportunities.


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6.2.109 The road capacity of cities is seriouslyimpaired due to wasteful use and neglect. Trafficmanagement measures in most cities areinadequate. Traffic problems of different degreesare caused by:

l Poorly planned traffic circulation;

l poorly designed intersections;

l inadequate signalling/other trafficmanagement measures;

l inadequate parking facilities and parkingon the streets;

l on-street loading/unloading activities;

l heavy ‘through’ traffic in central areas;

l encroachment on footpaths/roads;

l general lack of regard for trafficregulations;

l inadequate enforcement of traffic rules andregulations.

6.2.110 As a complement to creating more physicalcapacity through major investments in urbantransport infrastructure, there is a lot of potentialfor the effective use of existing road space byappropriate traffic engineering and management/enforcement measures.

6.2.111 During the Tenth Plan period, studies willbe carried out in a number of the larger cities todevelop integrated transport systems particularly rto strengthen the modes of transport for the urbanpoor such as the urban public bus system, non-motorised transports, and informal transport. Theobjective will be to strengthen the public transportsystems by increasing its capacity, while integratingall other modes of transport so as to optimise theoptions available in each city to reduce congestionand pollution, while improving access, speed and

BOX : 6.2.6THE CASE FOR PRIVATISATION OF URBAN

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The private sector has shown remarkable growthand entrepreneurial abilities in the transportindustry. It is a matter of concern that the financialand managerial capabilities of the private sectorare not being put to better use in urban publictransport systems. There is inadequateappreciation of the importance of an efficientpublic transport system in the economic andsocial life of the city.

The private sector is already present in urban andsuburban transport, but because of the prevailingsystem of ‘transport permits’ and nationalisation,most of the private vehicles are run in aclandestine fashion. This affects the quality of thesystem, apart from exposing the users toavoidable risks. A more demand-driven publictransport system is called for, in the interests ofthe commuters in the cities.

The right course would be to de-nationalise thesector, and bring in a competitive system of road-based public transport in the cities, in a phasedmanner. The present systems, while subjectingthe State Road Transport Corporations to losses,do not provide reliable and punctual services.With the sector being thrown open to the privateorganised sector, a regulator can fix the faresand determine the subsidies to be provided bythe State for categories such as school-children,the disabled, and the elderly. The number of suchsubsidies need to be kept low.

The transport systems should be operated bycorporate organisations or co-operatives of bus-owners. The minimum or qualifying level ofinvestment capabilities and experience ofoperators can be defined, so that the systemsare run on professional lines with attention beingpaid to passenger comfort, safety, reliability, andpunctuality.


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safety. Emphasis will be laid on urban planning,including development of satellite towns, creationof ring-roads and bye-passes, and decongestion ofthe cities by shifting non-essential activities to theoutskirts. Measures to improve the viability of publictransport projects, and innovations to attract greaterinvestment into this sector, including strengtheningthe network of urban transport infrastructureconsisting of roads, grade separators, pedestriansubways, etc., will also be undertaken.

6.2.112 A programme of Central assistance tourban transport related investments is alsoproposed to be taken up during the Tenth Plan.Some of the areas to be assisted will be:

6.2.113 Urban Bus : In view of the technologicalsuperiority and other advantages, urban bus maybe introduced in metropolitan cities replacing thestandard bus currently in use. The CentralGovernment should finance 50 per cent of the costof 2,000 urban buses, as an initial investmenttowards more efficient public transport.

6.2.114 Dedicated Bus-ways: As a major part ofthe transport demand will continue to be met by thebus system in cities, it is important to facilitate theirmovement through provision of dedicated bus-ways.A pilot programme on this will be taken up duringthe Tenth Plan. Alternatives such as electric trolleybuses and sky bus will be explored whereappropriate.

Planning for Rail Based Urban Transport

6.2.115 In cities with a population of 3 million ormore, there are several corridors of heavy – 20,000or more – peak hour peak direction traffic. Provisionof rail-based urban transport system on suchcorridors becomes inescapable, and institutionalarrangements for introducing such systems ineligible cities are overdue. City-wise specific projectsfor rail-based urban transport systems together withfunds required for them need to be identified.Certain other measures are also required, such as:

Ø A comprehensive legislation coveringconstruction as well as O & M of metrorailways in all Million Plus cities, needs tobe enacted. The legislation will also haveprovisions for a regulatory authority forfixing fares, and safety inspection system.The Rules of Business should clarify theresponsibility of each department ofgovernment involved such as the Ministryof Railways, Urban Development, etc., aswell as the State Governments concerned.

Ø The Central Government should set up aNational Urban Transport DevelopmentFund with a ‘seed money’ allocation of Rs.3,000 crore. In addition an equal amountshould be raised through taxes/cessestaking the total amount available to Rs.6,000 crore. The Fund would be the primemover for making urban rail-basedtransport systems a reality.

Ø Metro systems are urgently needed incities like Kolkata which presently has alimited metro rail system, Mumbai andChennai which have a partial coverage ofsuburban rail service, and cities ofHyderabad and Bangalore which havevirtually no commuter rail systems. Citiessuch as Ahmedabad, Pune, Kanpur,Nagpur, Lucknow, Surat and Jaipur canalso aspire for rail-based urban transportsystems. Central assistance on par withassistance given to the Delhi Metro project,is a commitment to be fulfilled as and whenthese projects get grounded.

Plan Outlay

6.2.116 The Ministry of Urban Development &Poverty Allivation will implement the policies &programmes mentioned in this chapter. Theschemewise break up of the Tenth Plan outlay isgiven in the Appendix.


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CIVIC AMENITIES IN URBAN AREAS

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