Page 9 - Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) Towards Cleaning India: A Policy Perspective
P. 9
Policy Brief
b) Increasing demand on limited public funds for a wide mandate of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India.
range of social and economic development activities, The State’s Public Health Engineering Departments should
which will only serve to reduce the funds available for be supported towards greater autonomy, accountability,
financing the water sector. and financial sustainability. Autonomy of ULBs and ring-
fencing them for better understanding of cost, revenue, and
Concluding Remarks subsidy.Strengthening their human resource capacity would
bring about improved service delivery in the sector. There
The Central government has been assisting the respective is a need to move away from the traditional engineering
State governments for improving the coverage of water and driven approach, to a participative approach with an
sanitation facilities. These policies and programmes need to amalgamation of social and environmental, professional,
be analysed and appropriately adjusted to accommodate and technical skills. Urban sanitation improvement is
the needs of the poor. The intergovernmental transfer of dependent to a large extent on government intervention
funds between the Centre and the State and then from and investment in city-wide infrastructure and involvement
State to the ULBs should be made performance-based, of slum-dwellers in large infrastructure projects in all stages
which could be a strong driver for reforms of the sector. from planning to implementation. Meeting the sanitation
This would bring in accountability into the sector. At the goals requires a wide range of measures, including
same time, the ULBs should be encouraged to raise funds consolidation of policy reforms, capacity building of the
through tariffs in order to sustain infrastructure and assume sector, participatory and demand–responsive approaches.
greater responsibilities for service delivery. The government on its part, should ensure that public
funds are allocated principally to the promotion and
The current focus of the Central government is on stimulation of demand generation for sanitation. The
service delivery and sustainability of services. There is an overall recommendations for consideration of the Central
urgent need to develop institutional and regulatory capacity Government are mentioned in Box 4.
of the sector by clearly defining the role of various actors
at the State and local level in line with the decentralization
BOX 4: RECOMMENDATIONS
Investments in sewerage systems must match investments in water supply. In order to reduce net water demand, recycling and reuse of the waste water must
be part of the water-sewage system planning.
As of now, treatment of liquid waste is not covered under the SBM (Urban). Bringing sewage and septage management under the urban component of the
Mission with pilot studies is recommended.
Review all laws and rules on waste management for strict enforcement and waste management should be based on the polluter-pays principle. The charges
for waste management may be collected along with property tax, water supply bills or electricity bills, as felt appropriate by the State governments/ULBs.
Public-privatepartnershiptobestrengthenedformanagingthesupply requirements as thesupply-demandgapinproductionof sanitary wareandproduction
materials is unmet and there exists a huge backlog.
Appropriate institutional arrangements at State and local level to ensure community and civil society participation for planning and management of
sanitation sector.
Capacity building of communities, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), ULBs, CSOs, NGOs, in scaling up sanitation in the urban slums and peri-urban areas.
Separate measures for operation and maintenance of community and public toilets.
FEBRUARY 2016 9
b) Increasing demand on limited public funds for a wide mandate of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India.
range of social and economic development activities, The State’s Public Health Engineering Departments should
which will only serve to reduce the funds available for be supported towards greater autonomy, accountability,
financing the water sector. and financial sustainability. Autonomy of ULBs and ring-
fencing them for better understanding of cost, revenue, and
Concluding Remarks subsidy.Strengthening their human resource capacity would
bring about improved service delivery in the sector. There
The Central government has been assisting the respective is a need to move away from the traditional engineering
State governments for improving the coverage of water and driven approach, to a participative approach with an
sanitation facilities. These policies and programmes need to amalgamation of social and environmental, professional,
be analysed and appropriately adjusted to accommodate and technical skills. Urban sanitation improvement is
the needs of the poor. The intergovernmental transfer of dependent to a large extent on government intervention
funds between the Centre and the State and then from and investment in city-wide infrastructure and involvement
State to the ULBs should be made performance-based, of slum-dwellers in large infrastructure projects in all stages
which could be a strong driver for reforms of the sector. from planning to implementation. Meeting the sanitation
This would bring in accountability into the sector. At the goals requires a wide range of measures, including
same time, the ULBs should be encouraged to raise funds consolidation of policy reforms, capacity building of the
through tariffs in order to sustain infrastructure and assume sector, participatory and demand–responsive approaches.
greater responsibilities for service delivery. The government on its part, should ensure that public
funds are allocated principally to the promotion and
The current focus of the Central government is on stimulation of demand generation for sanitation. The
service delivery and sustainability of services. There is an overall recommendations for consideration of the Central
urgent need to develop institutional and regulatory capacity Government are mentioned in Box 4.
of the sector by clearly defining the role of various actors
at the State and local level in line with the decentralization
BOX 4: RECOMMENDATIONS
Investments in sewerage systems must match investments in water supply. In order to reduce net water demand, recycling and reuse of the waste water must
be part of the water-sewage system planning.
As of now, treatment of liquid waste is not covered under the SBM (Urban). Bringing sewage and septage management under the urban component of the
Mission with pilot studies is recommended.
Review all laws and rules on waste management for strict enforcement and waste management should be based on the polluter-pays principle. The charges
for waste management may be collected along with property tax, water supply bills or electricity bills, as felt appropriate by the State governments/ULBs.
Public-privatepartnershiptobestrengthenedformanagingthesupply requirements as thesupply-demandgapinproductionof sanitary wareandproduction
materials is unmet and there exists a huge backlog.
Appropriate institutional arrangements at State and local level to ensure community and civil society participation for planning and management of
sanitation sector.
Capacity building of communities, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), ULBs, CSOs, NGOs, in scaling up sanitation in the urban slums and peri-urban areas.
Separate measures for operation and maintenance of community and public toilets.
FEBRUARY 2016 9
