The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $101 million loan as additional financing to the ongoing West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project to scale up access to safe, sustainable, and inclusive drinking water services in rural West Bengal, particularly in areas affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity contamination.
The current project and the increased funding show a creative, efficient, and long-lasting service delivery approach for West Bengal’s rural drinking water supply. It will help the Purba Medinipur district create alternative sources of safe water. Additionally, it will finance the development of a new drinking water supply scheme for Purba Medinipur’s unserved areas and South 24 Parganas’ salinity-affected districts.
“By increasing access to piped water supply systems, the new funding aims to reduce communities’ reliance on contaminated groundwater sources affected by arsenic and fluoride, building on the innovative practices of the ongoing project,” stated ADB Urban Specialist Sourav Majumder. “With inclusive infrastructure and focused capacity-building initiatives, it will guarantee last-mile water service delivery and empower local communities, especially women.”
With a $240 million initial investment, the project was approved in 2018 and presented a novel drinking water supply strategy for rural areas in India. It featured continuous service delivery at levels above the average for rural areas. 390,000 metered household connections and sophisticated smart water management technologies, like GIS-based monitoring and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, are among the major breakthroughs.
Four water treatment plants, 79 storage reservoirs, and over 6,200 kilometers of distribution pipelines have been built in the project districts of Bankura, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur, marking significant advancements.
By implementing the Asset Management and Service Delivery Framework (AMSDF), the new funding will also improve institutional capacity for the delivery of drinking water services. This framework gives gram panchayats, the local governing bodies, the authority to oversee water services and establish rules for operational sustainability factors like tariffing, metering, and human resources.
One of the top international development banks in Asia and the Pacific, ADB promotes resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth. ADB uses creative financial instruments and strategic alliances to change lives, create high-quality infrastructure, and protect the environment while collaborating with its members and partners to address difficult problems. ADB was established in 1966 and has 69 members, 50 of them are local.
Source : Adb
