Recognising that Tamil Nadu accounts for 9.6 per cent of India’s urban population, the World Bank has approved a $ 400-million loan for a sustainable urban development project (TNSUDP) to strengthen the financial and administrative capacity of urban local bodies (ULBs), benefitting over 20 lakh residents. At least 40 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women.
The project will focus on giving results-based grant to eligible ULBs and invest in water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management and urban transportation networks.
“Tamil Nadu is a rapidly urbanising State and a pioneer in many aspects of urban development. However, the State has many unfinished reforms and an investment agenda,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.
Interventions such as waste water collection and treatment, water reuse, storm water drains and restoration of water bodies would not only help improve urban services, but will also make them environmentally sustainable, according to a World Bank release in Washington.
The project has been divided into three components. Under results-based grants, the Vellore and Erode Corporations and Hosur Municipality will be empowered and incentivised to improve governance and encourage service delivery performance so that they become role models for other ULBs. The support will be in the areas of development planning, e-governance, sustainable finance and organisational capacity. The objective is to make them Model Cities.
The second component involves investments in urban services. The first sub-project, Greater Chennai Storm Water Drainage, will account for 30 per cent of the TNSUDP loan amount. According to a WB document, this will involve constructing and rehabilitating 329 km of storm water drains in newly added (peri-urban) areas of the Chennai Corporation. The areas to be covered include parts of Valasaravakkam, Ambattur and Alandur zones, which are linked to Adyar and Cooum rivers. It is expected to benefit over 0.8 million residents through reduced incidence of flooding and consequent damage, as well as improvement in sanitation and health of inhabitants.
The other sub-projects are tentative. These include upgrading roads to international standards, pedestrianisation of T. Nagar, restoration of Narayanapuram, Pallavaram lakes, tertiary waste water plant in Kodungaiyur by Metrowater.
The third component will be technical assistance through e-governance and public finance management in all ULBs. Under this, the ULBs will be able to roll out mobile-based applications, including training and support to cover staff. It includes scaling up of GIS systems in the remaining 118 ULBs.
The World Bank had a long engagement with the Tamil Nadu government in the urban sector with the setting up of Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund in the late 1990s. “This project will continue this partnership and support the government as it moves forward to address the next generation of urban development challenges and reforms,” said Raghu Kesavan, senior infrastructure specialist, and the task team leader for the project.
