ADB sanctions $96.3 million loan for water projects in Himachal Pradesh
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a $96.3 million (about Rs 770 crore) loan to provide safe drinking water and improve water supply and sanitation services in Himachal Pradesh. The loan has been approved for the Rural Drinking Water Improvement & Livelihood Project, in which the water supply infrastructure in the state would be strengthened.
Even as more than 90 per cent of the state’s rural population has access to drinking water, the water supply infrastructure remains old and deteriorated, resulting to inefficient and poor service quality. The ADB project will connect 75,800 households to the service, providing uninterrupted water supply to about 370,000 residents across 10 districts.
“The project meets the objectives of the Jal Jeevan Mission, a national flagship program of the Government of India, which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024,” said ADB Unit Head of Project Administration on Urban Development and Water for South Asia Jude Kohlhase.
“The project will upgrade water supply infrastructure and strengthen institutional capacity to ensure safe, sustainable, and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services.”
The project aims to improve water supply and sanitation services through, among others, the construction of 48 groundwater wells, 80 surface water intake facilities, 109 water treatment plants, 117 pumping stations, and 3,000 kilometers of water distribution pipelines.
A pilot fecal sludge management and sanitation program will also be implemented in Sirmaur District, benefitting 250,000 residents and to determine replicability and guide the design of future projects.
According to an official statement, to ensure efficient delivery and sustainability of services, the project will strengthen the capacity of the Jal Shakti Vibhag of the state and gram panchayat (local government) village water and sanitation committees. It will support the state government’s water tariff policy reforms and introduce an asset management system at the state-level and district asset management plans.
Under the project’s scope, key project stakeholders and community-based organizations will be trained on water management, including livelihood skills training for women self-help groups. The project will also raise public awareness on the health benefits from improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene practices.
