ADB approves $125m loan to improve water supply and sanitation in Uttarakhand

The project will construct 136 kilometers (km) of water pipe system to replace defective water networks in South Dehradun.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125 million loan to improve access to quality water supply and sanitation services in Uttarakhand, India.

The project will construct 136 kilometers (km) of water pipe system to replace defective water networks in South Dehradun. This will ensure reliable and continuous water supply, benefitting an estimated 40,000 people, including 4,000 urban poor and vulnerable groups. Water meters will also be installed in about 5,400 households to support efficient water use and consumption billing.

In addition, the project will establish sewage treatment plants in Dehradun, supported by 256 km of enclosed underground sewer networks and 117 km of stormwater drainage networks benefitting an estimated 138,000 residents, including 15,000 urban poor and vulnerable people. A total of 17,410 households in Dehradun will be connected to this sewerage system. Replacing the aging sewage treatment plant with a new one using advanced technology, and trunk sewer rehabilitation in Nainital, the project will ensure resilient and reliable sanitation services to the entire population of about 154,000 people.

“Lack of reliable and clean water and sanitation services is a major concern in the fast-growing and rapidly urbanizing state of Uttarakhand,” said ADB Senior Urban Development Specialist for South Asia Na Won Kim. “This project will enhance the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Dehradun and Nainital to provide reliable and efficient water supply and sanitation services. ADB’s support will help improve the country’s health conditions through innovative and climate-resilient investment and deeper institutional support.”

The project incorporates some lessons from earlier ADB-financed projects in Uttarakhand and other states in India. These include, among others, building citywide sanitation to make them cost-effective, wider-reaching, and less water-dependent and engaging the private sector to build the skills of concerned urban local bodies on operation and maintenance systems.

The project will introduce a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and geographic information system (GIS) to provide real-time data and information for monitoring. Moreover, for the first time in India’s water and sanitation sectors, the project will introduce four citywide computerized maintenance and management systems to advance operation and maintenance, and asset management of the water supply and sanitation infrastructures and services. 

ADB will provide a $250,000 technical assistance (TA) grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund and another $750,000 grant from its Climate Change Fund to further strengthen climate-resilient urban planning and development of the state by carrying out a thorough assessment, supporting science-based decision making, developing smartly integrated and resilient urban planning tools, and capacity-building activities.