Historic Agreement for 24X7 Water Supply Project worth Rs 510 Crores signed between Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and the French Development Agency with the support of the European Union

The Voice of Chandigarh News:

Achieving the final and much awaited milestone of the ambitious 24×7 pan city water supply project, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh signed the historic project agreement with the French Financial institution, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with the support of the European Union at Punjab Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh.

This agreement was signed by Ms. Anindita Mitra, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Chandigarh on behalf of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and Mr. Bruno Bosle, Country Director for India of the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), in the presence of Mr. Banwarilal Purohit, Governor, Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union in India Mrs. Sarbjit Kaur, Mayor, Chandigarh, and other dignitaries.

While addressing the gathering, the Governor said that though the 24×7 Water Supply System has been implemented in various cities in India, Chandigarh’s pan city project with Smart Water Metering for all the 1.77 lacs connections, is the first of its kind.

He said that Chandigarh’s deep rooted relationship with France is well known as the entire city was planned by the famous French architect, Le Corbusier. It was in 2016, that the then Ambassador of France and the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi visited Chandigarh and in the iconic rock garden of Chandigarh, it was decided that France shall support crucial infrastructure projects in Chandigarh.

He appreciated the vision and commitment of the European partners for the project. AFD has accompanied the design of the programme and is funding the major part of the investment through a 412 crores soft loan. The European Union on the other hand is providing a 98 Crores grant through AFD to accompany the implementation of the investment.

He said that the project was the need of the hour as the entire water supply system of Chandigarh was an ageing one. Also, due to slow and steady rise in the population, criss-cross pipelines have come up across the city making it near impossible to isolate and detect leakages leading to low pressure on upper floors of the buildings.

Typically, intermittent water supply results in higher per capita consumption of water due to storage. Not just that, it leads to contamination as well. The city witnesses much higher water consumption in the range of 227 lpcd as compared to the National norms of 150 lpcd majorly on account of Non Revenue Water in the range of 30-35 % leading to huge operation and maintenance cost.

He said that, to address the above mentioned issues, as much as 270 kms of the water supply network which was non-conducive for supply of high pressure water shall be replaced during the execution of the project. 24*7 high pressure water at the household level shall eliminate chances of contamination. As 24×7 Water Supply System assures round the clock pressurized Water Supply, no storage shall be required at household level which will save huge costs to the residents and time saving waiting for the water.

He applauded that the project has a very strong gender equity core. It is women who shall benefit the most from the project as even today, in Indian households, it is the lady of the house who provides for these requirements.

The project shall be led from the front by women, who shall man 20% to 50% posts at every level in this project, right from the operator to the managerial cadres. This shall lead to women empowerment within the society. He thanked the European Union and AFD, who steered and guided on this component.

One of the major components of this project, funded by the EU contribution is the technical assistance to the Municipal Corporation, which shall assist and provide operational tools to help switch from intermittent water supply to a continuous 24×7 water supply system, and provide dedicated information, education, and change-management support to end-users. The EU grant shall also support the Municipal Corporation with operational tools, and pro-poor investments related to the rehabilitation of stand-posts in the slum areas by converting them to multi-tap stand posts, connection of the used water with the Sewerage System, thereby, creating hygienic conditions and reducing the time for women to collect water.

He congratulated the Mayor and councilors, the Commissioner and her team of officers for taking up these people centric steps in public interest and wished them all success in future endeavors. The Governor asked the concerned officers of Chandigarh Administration and Municipal Corporation Chandigarh to ensure that the project is implemented in the stipulated time frame.

The Ambassador of European Union, H.E. Ugo Astuto, saidthat “The programme being launched today is a good example of the team Europe approach underpinning the EU Global Gateway strategy.  The European Union and Agence Française de Developpement are pooling their resources for an investment in urban infrastructure with the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh with the objective of improving sustainability and bringing positive change in the life of the citizens of Chandigarh”.

Sarbjit Kaur, Mayor said that the primary goal of the project is switching from intermittent supply to 24×7 continuous pressurized supply system citing health, hygiene and water saving benefits.

The Mayor said that the Municipal Corporation and citizens shall vastly benefit from the project as the non-revenue water, which is now in the range of 30-35%, will gradually come down to 15%.

As the project envisages smart metering upto household level, all leakages even in the internal plumbing shall be identified. Once the citizens rectify the same, the water billings shall also come down. Through Smart Water Metering the consumption pattern of residents will be monitored and any deviation from the normal, in use of water will be intimated to the consumer. Reasons like leakage in the internal plumbing system of the house will be proactively intimated for taking corrective action by the consumer.

She further added that due to overuse of underground water resources over a decade, the ground water has depleted upto 20 meters in Chandigarh. Completion of the project will see phasing out of the 260 odd tubewells, over a period of the next 5 years, which shall arrest the depletion of ground water and the process of aquifer rejuvenation shall start.

The project shall also give impetus to the economy of Chandigarh due to inward investment.

She exhorted the fact that the project was completely in line with the Green Chandigarh mission as replacement of existing pumping machinery with energy efficient pumps will reduce the green house emissions substantially. As leakages reduce, Municipal Corporation will be able to provide consistent water supply to citizens using reduced water resources. This shall lead to lesser pumping of water, further reducing the carbon footprint of the project.

Mr Bruno Bosle, the Country Director of AFD India while addressing the audience, said that, “the Chandigarh Pan-City 24X7 Water Supply Project is emblematic of the Indo-French Cooperation in India and is a flagship project for the AFD. The project is directly addressing the priorities of the Indian Govt. which aims to move towards universal coverage, 24X7 water supply, and Drink from tap initiative while being operationally efficient, and reduction of carbon footprints of the water utility.

He also thanked European Union who agreed to partner with AFD, and provided one of the largest grant of 11.38MEUR in addition to the AFD contribution of 48MEUR towards this project. The contribution of EU grant is a key to the success of the project through the technical assistance, change management, operational tools, and rehabilitation work in low-income settlements.

Among others present were Nitin Yadav, IAS, Secretary Local Government, Chandigarh, Vijay Namdeorao Zade, IAS, Secretary Finance, Chandigarh, Parveer Ranjan, DGP, Chandigarh, Rakhi Gupta Bhandari, Secretary to Governor, Punjab, Dalip Sharma, Senior Deputy Mayor, Anup Gupta, Deputy Mayor, other councilors and prominent persons of Chandigarh.

Other members of the delegation, from AFD, we had Ankit Tulsyan, Head of Water & Natural Resources, and Mr Jatin Arora, Regional Grants Manager.

From European Union, Mr Franck Viault, Minister Counsellor, Head of Cooperation, and Ms Delphine Brissonneau, Senior Programme Manager.