Involvement of Pvt sector

CHANDIGARH, Nov 18: Public health engineers and heads of implementing agencies from all over the country today strongly recommended involvem...

CHANDIGARH, Nov 18: Public health engineers and heads of implementing agencies from all over the country today strongly recommended involvement of private sector in the development of urban water supply and sanitation facilities, revision of water tariff and a countrywide campaign to educate beneficiaries.

The recommendations were made at a three-day conference on urban water supply and sanitation sector attended by 140 delegates from 27 states and union territories. It stressed on solid waste management in urban areas and developing adequate facilities for training of work force. The conference hosted by the Haryana Public Health Department, concluded here today.

Haryana Public Health Engineer-in-Chief S.S. Bola said the private sector participation was mandatory as the country needed Rs 51,000 crore to improve water supply and sanitation sectors in urban areas during the Ninth Five-Year (1997-2002) Plan. “The government is in no position to make such massive investments. The entry of private sector will also help introduce newer technologies in these sectors,” he added.

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Bola said the limit of 70 litre per capita per day supply of water should be revised to 80 litre at source and special requirements of towns should be worked out separately with due evidence. The per capita water supply for bigger towns should be at one rate suitable for providing sewerage system to be decided subsequently by a particular municipality after augmenting the water supply.

Under the centrally assisted accelerated water supply programme, the conference recommended that towns with a population up to one lakh be included in the programme against existing limit of 20,000 population, he said. There was a practice to place smoothness of various types of pipes at a co-efficient factor of hundred, but the conference recommended the co-efficient factors for various kinds of pipes should have different values. The delegates also laid stress on collection of basic data on existing water supply and sanitation facilities in the towns so that further planning be made easier on rational basis.

The conference emphasised on giving due importance to scientific leak detection and initiation of adequate remedial measures so as to check wastage of precious water. In addition, public health engineers suggested that water supply and sanitation being social service sectors, tariff of electricity supply to installations should be fixed on a no-profit no-loss basis. They also stressed on the need for solid waste management in urban sector.

The conference recommended to the Union government that collection of the solid waste should be the responsibility of beneficiary or some social organisation and thereafter municipality should make arrangements for shifting the waste or its disposal at its own cost. The recommendations would be sent to the Ministry of Urban Development and the Planning Commission for necessary action.