By: USAID/India
For many Indian cities and towns facing the challenges of growing populations and urban expansion, providing direct access to clean, affordable, and reliable drinking water is a significant challenge. Currently, only a fraction of the urban population has direct access to clean piped water, often because of inadequate and inefficient supply systems. The delivery of water and sanitation services in cities is particularly important because of the direct impact on human health and productivity. To help address the urgent need for investment in water and sanitation infrastructure across the country, the USAID Financial Institutions Reform and Expansion (FIRE-D) project tested two sustainable models for providing affordable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation in the Indian states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
Children collect water from a hand pump in an urban slum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Most slums in India lack clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services. Photo Credit: Sukhminder Dosanj
In the state of Orissa, FIRE-D provided technical assistance, training, and capacity building to the state government’s water utility to help restructure operations, institute operating and financing reforms, and move toward full cost recovery to allow it to expand services to all urban residents, including the poor. The Japan International Cooperation Agency offered to continue the institutional strengthening process after the FIRE-D project ends in January 2011.
In addition, FIRE-D brokered a public-private partnership agreement between a Bhubaneswar, Orissa NGO; a microfinance institution; the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation; and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the provision of water and sanitary toilets in seven slums of Bhubaneswar which benefited approximately 3,500 residents. As part of the project, FIRE-D also provided technical assistance to the BMC to formulate a comprehensive strategy for all of Bhubaneswar’s 377 low-income settlements, with a focus on how water and sanitation are linked to improved health and hygiene.
FIRE-D helped the Madhya Pradesh Urban Infrastructure Fund plan and prepare bankable water and sanitation projects, which will be financed through municipal bonds and other sources of private sector capital. FIRE-D also partnered with the UK Department for International Development to design and construct improved water and sanitation infrastructure in 12 slums in Dewas, an ancient town in Madhya Pradesh. The slums will be connected to a new city-wide water project that is currently under construction. The lessons from this initiative were used to develop a citywide sanitation plan, which provides a comprehensive roadmap for a cleaner and healthier city.
