gender sensitive cities - urban news digest

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Gender refers to the socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men, in a given culture or location. These roles are influenced by perceptions and expectations arising from cultural, political, environmental, economic, social, and religious factors, as well as custom, law, class, ethnicity, and individual or institutional bias. Therefore, gender sensitivity is the ability to recognise gender issues, especially women’s different perceptions and interests arising from their unique social location and gender roles.
Allied with the concept of gender sensitivity is the equally important concept of gender mainstreaming and we cannot talk of either in isolation. Gen- der mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy action, including legislation and programmes, in all areas and levels. Mainstream- ing essentially offers a plural- istic approach that respects the differences among women and men.
The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 United Nations Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi. The idea was for- mally featured in 1995 at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and was cited in the document that resulted from the conference, the Beijing Platform for Action.
Urban planning Gender-sensitive cities reflect society’s diversity. They are barrier-free, have well-developed infrastructure, are inter- connected and offer spaces that can be interpreted and utilised according to diverse needs.
Gender-based urban development is about promoting cities that respond equally to men and women. Since women experience cities differently, meeting women’s needs becomes critical to promoting sustainable and equitable urban development. Urban women, while generally sharing specific gender interests arising from a common set of responsibilities and roles, constitute a fairly diverse group. There are elderly women, working women and women whose major responsibility is in the domestic sphere. There are also women who balance multiple roles at the same time. Thus, urban development planning must respond to the needs of these diverse groups.
Gender-sensitive planning promotes social communication and defuses the potential for conflicts in a neighbourhood with usages that differ in levels of intensity by respect- ing the living realities of men and women within the local community.
Traditional planning based on land-use separation has led to fragmented urban environ- ments where residences, work- places, shopping and leisure
districts are in separate spaces linked by extensive road and transportation systems. These practices have been criticised for isolating women at home, making access to services and facilities inconvenient, and dis- couraging them from leading the life they wish to lead.
Gender equality is one dimension of inclusive planning, which was endorsed by the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum. Urban planning covers a wide spectrum of concerns, including employment, housing, open space, transport and environment, to name just a few.
A gendered planning practice would be sensitive to gender differences in the way the city is used/experienced and therefore able to make more informed choices than by taking standardised approaches assumed to fit everyone.
Transport Women and men have dis- tinct transport requirements. Yet transport planning often disregards women’s priorities because of a focus on mobility rather than accessibility and a preoccupation with the formal sector worker’s journey and itinerary. Women’s travel needs frequently require transport outside of peak hours and to alternative destinations from those of men. And yet cost- cutting inevitably involves a
Focus Cities: Thiruvananthapuram & Kochi +O6
Special Feature: Integrated Water & Wastewater Management +10
Gender sensitivity is the ability to recognise gender issues, especially women’s different perceptions and interests arising from their unique social location and gender roles. Let us take a look at how we can incorporate the concept of gender sensitivity in our cities
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reduction in off-peak services, a consequence of the economy evaluation made by planners using conventional cost/ben-
efit measures that ignore the value of the trips women make in their reproductive role.
As mothers and carers, women have to escort others. For example, women are most likely to be the ones looking after young children, elderly or sick relatives, and visiting schools and clinics. It is women who assume most domestic and community management responsibilities and women are prevalent in the informal econ-
omy. Moreover in countries where patriarchy is pre-domi- nant, working women usually have to juggle paid work with their household responsibilities. Women, particularly from low income and middle income communities are more likely to be dependent on public transport. Where systems locate public transport on the edges of residential areas, rather
than within them, women have to walk long distances and, in cases like these, may be vulner- able to crime.
Affordable transport systems circumvent critical desti-
nations and there are reports from most of the countries of the world that women quite often face harassment while commuting on these transport systems. Harassment on public transport can impede the pro- ductivity of women because of its psychological impact on them. Inadequate design of public transport infrastructure, for example, lack of attention to proper lighting on plat- forms, safety conditions in
waiting rooms, combine to constrain women’s access and limit the positive distribu- tional impacts of urban public transport. A very well-known example of sexual harassment women face on public trains is on Tokyo’s famously congested commuter trains. In 2009, after an increasing number of com- plaints from female commut- ers, the National Police Agency
announced the setting up of a study group with railway oper- ators to discuss measures to stop gropers.
Closer to home, according to a survey conducted in Decem- ber last year by the Associ- ated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (ASSO- CHAM), public transport and roadsides were places where women faced high levels of sexual harassment. Accord- ing to the report of the working group on urban transport for the 12th Five Year Plan, “The present scene of urban transport across India is cat- egorised by sprawling cities, declining share of public transport and non-motorised transport, focus on supply side yet with low investments, sheer neglect of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users and increased motorisation leading to pollution and high road fatalities/injuries. The problem is getting further aggravated by multiplicity of authorities/ departments involved in urban transport, often with conflict- ing agendas, as well as a lack of understanding of the authorities and public of various issues relating to urban transport.”
The working group noted: “On account of lack of availability of credible and quality public transport options, coupled with increased affordability of people to own private vehicles, the two-wheeler ownership rate in Class I cities at an all-India level is expected to increase from 102 per 1,000 population at present to 393 per 1,000 population by 2021, and for cars from 14 to 48 per 1,000 population by the same year. Thus the number of cars, scooters and motorcy- cles in India is expected to grow more than threefold by 2021.” While there was no gender- specific angle to the study, it is clear that safe public transport for women, especially if they are expected to participate as equal partners in a democracy, is non-negotiable. A robust public transport, by the very nature of its structure, ensures safety in terms of physical numbers. The report as such recom- mended greater public investment in public transport.
Therefore, initiatives encouraging safe public transit
for women and girls should not be limited to improving motorised forms of transport. That is, well-maintained foot- paths, pedestrian streets, well- lit sidewalks, bicycle lanes and locking areas, and community bicycle-share programmes are all integral ways of making cities safe for women and girls, as well as making them more friendly and liveable in general.
Early this year, the Ministry of Urban Development issued fresh guidelines to all states to install preventive security apparatus in all modes of public transport for safe travel of women and children. The Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, Dr Sud- hir Krishna, mentioning the urban bus specifications set by the ministry, asked all states to ensure installation of LED sign- boards, audio-visual passenger information systems and two cameras on buses with two days of recording facility besides fix- ing GPS/GPRS.
The ministry also raised concerns about the lack of safety features in interme- diate public transport like auto-rickshaws and taxis. Dr Krishna asked states to fol- low the G-Auto model launched in Ahmedabad where auto- rickshaws are managed through a common control centre. He also asked state governments to bring all such vehicles under the GPS/GPRS network.
In conjunction with these efforts, public transit systems in particular must be planned and designed to accommo- date women’s specific needs in terms of the routes they travel, the times of day they depend on public transit, the places they wait for public transit, and the places they get dropped off by public transit.
CASE STUDY Montréal is the second largest city in Canada. The Comité Action Femmes et Securité Urbaine/Women and Urban Safety Action Committee (CAFSU) was founded in 1992. It is a partnership between women’s groups, municipal authorities, city planners, university research groups, public transit officials, health officials
and the police. CAFSU approached La Société de Transport de la Commu- nauté Urbaine de Montréal, which runs the public transit system on the island of Mon- tréal, to put in place a bus service system to address issues of women’s safety in public transit at night. The service would allow women to get off the bus between two regular stops in order to decrease the walking distance to their destination. In 1994, the ‘Between Two Stops’ pilot project was instituted to evaluate the viability of the service, which is strictly for girls and women only. The project was made permanent in Decem- ber 1996, with the service extending its hours.
Safety In order for women to be able to exercise their right to free- dom of movement in cities, they must feel safe. Settlement planning and design must promote safety, given problems of crime and sexual violence in many cities. ‘Safe’ design includes, for example, good street lighting and parks that are overlooked, but it ideally avoids creating deserted spaces or areas that are not peopled for parts of the day, and places where attackers can easily hide or where women are easily trapped, such as subways and alleyways.
According to a survey conducted in December by the Associated Chambers of Com- merce and Industry in India (ASSOCHAM), around 92% of working women felt insecure, especially at night, in all the major hubs of economic activity, especially in the business process outsourcing, information technology, hospital- ity, civil aviation, health and garment manufacturing sectors. They have been demand- ing suitable safety norms. Even women working in large establishments did not feel safe after dark, it said. The random survey, conducted among working and non-working women in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Kolkata, Ban- galore, Hyderabad, Ahmed- abad, Pune and Dehradun
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revealed that almost all the respondents felt that the problem of insecurity faced by women was bigger than any other challenge in India.
A positive step in making our cities safer was taken by UNICEF, UN-Habitat and UN Women in 2011, when they launched ‘Safe and Friendly Cities for All,’ a five-year programme that aims at making women and children feel safer in their local neighbourhoods, while improving their quality of life. This partnership initiative builds on prior experience that all three organisations have accumulated on preventing gender-based violence, using innovative tools for child and youth engagement in urban settings and promoting integrated crime prevention strategies in cities.
By working with local municipalities, women’s groups, child and youth advocates, the joint initiative will focus on increasing safety among women, youth and children, and preventing and reducing violence, including sexual harassment and violence against women and girls in public spaces.
The new partnership will address these challenges by supporting a variety of initiatives in the participating cities. By working with local authorities and organisations on the ground, women and young people will be able to identify those areas in their neighbourhood where they feel most at risk, and find solutions together.
Highlight: A collaborative approach in India improves women’s safety In 2009, Safer Cities partnered with Jagori, a Delhi-based women’s resource centre, to support a Youth and Girls Safety Project in a resettlement area in New Delhi. The project works with boys and girls in 1) reclaiming public spaces for recreation, theatre and sport events, etc. 2) advocating and raising awareness for girls’ safety through developing and disseminating community radio and community theatre and photography. Other project partners involved were: civil society organisations, women’s groups, youth leaders and government officials. The actions taken contributed to: • An outreach of 2,355
households through the project; • Increased mobility of the
young girls and women, and they now confront issues of harassment on the streets; • Active engagement of
young women and men in con- ducting safety audits and up- grading of public space in the community; • The ability of young
women and girls to negotiate with boys and young men on the use of public space in the community; • The ability of young
women and men to express themselves; • The ability of young
women and men to advocate and influence policy makers, media, urban planners, police and the municipality.
The project is now reaching out to more households and other communities and the model established is going to be replicated in other cities and towns in India. During focus group discussions, almost all of the parents said their daugh- ters were more confident and able to move around alone.
Sanitation It is a common assumption that cities are far better places than rural areas for accessing safe
and convenient water and sanitation services, but in developing countries, access to urban services often differs widely between the rich and the poor, and between men and women. Women and girls typically take responsibility for fetch- ing water when supply is poor, and this can take hours out of their day, reducing time for education, employment, child- care and rest. When relatives become sick because of poor hygiene, it is also women and girls who bear the greatest burden of care. A lack of separate- sex toilet facilities in schools, including those in informal settlements, can cause girls to miss classes or drop out of school in adolescence. Thus, attention to gender issues in the design and implementation of urban water and sanitation programmes can bring wide health, social and economic benefits to women and their communities.
Women and girls, far more than men and boys,face difficult issues of privacy, safety and health in finding spaces to relieve themselves. Sanitation facilities should be improved at the household and community levels to mitigate safety,
convenience and hygiene issues. The need to construct separate and appropriate latrines for boys and girls in schools is also an urgent issue.
Girls very often drop out of school once they reach puberty due to the lack of private facilities at schools. Sanitation must be given a higher profile and catered to as equally as water supply services.
Water and sanitation util- ity managers and local authorities need to be trained in gender issues, and gender sensitive strategies, need to be main- streamed within the norms and standards of their work.
Linfen in China offers a significant lesson to Indian cities. It convincingly shows that simple, but vital things such as public toilets are as critical as any large infrastructure project to make cities liveable. For years, Linfen was one of the worst cities in the world to live in. But, in the last four years, it has turned around dramat- ically, improved living conditions and recently won the UN-Habitat’s international best practice award for the Asia and Pacific region.
At the core of Linfen’s revival and the reason for worldwide attention is the ‘toilet revolution’ that began in 2008. Concerned by the poor quality and numbers of public toilets — only 12 of them for a population of 600,000 — the local government constructed and retrofitted 200 toilets in and around the city. Smart design has changed people’s perceptions, and about 20 million use them every year.
In contrast, Indian cities are grossly underprovided in terms of public toilets. Pro- viding toilets to the 15 million urban households that do not have them is a priority. Equally
important is to provide toilets in public places. Organisa- tions such as Sulabh Interna- tional have done well to build low-cost and easy to maintain toilets, but they are constructed more to address the problem of inadequate toilet numbers at the household level.
An inclusive city begins with the public toilet. There should be ‘potty parity’ — sufficient numbers of toilets for women users — and special needs for the disabled must be accommodated. Local bodies should compel all road building and civic projects to allocate space for this purpose. They could also try innovative schemes such as the one practised in the United Kingdom, where the government pays private establishments to keep their toilets open for public use. The health of a city is inextrica- bly linked to its toilets and it is imperative to provide them in sufficient numbers.
However, a ray of light was shown by the Ministry of Urban Development, in the form of National Urban San- itation Policy (NUSP). The vision for Urban Sanitation in India is, “All Indian cities and towns become totally sani- tised, healthy and liveable and ensure and sustain good public health and environmental outcomes for all their citizens with a special focus on hygienic and affordable sanitation facilities for the urban poor and women.”
Housing Women, have traditionally been excluded from land ownership, this practice has contributed to their continued poverty/insecurity. Only a very small percentage of women have legal title to housing/ land. Among the poor, women land owners are likely to be a negligible number. Women’s lack of title/ownership makes them a voiceless and vulnera- ble constituency. Living in illegal slums and the lack of land ownership denies the urban poor any formal identity (ration or voter ID cards), forces them into informal sector employment, lowers their access to formal credit/basic services (no formal bank account or availability of collateral), and exposes them to rent seekers (work contractors) and exploit- ative markets.
Women either do not work for wages or earn less than men. Because of their lower earnings, women cannot afford to buy land/property, raise credit from banks, or bear the tax burden from legal property ownership. Being outside the tax net, they have a lower claim on municipal resources. Hous- ing design like homes with in- the-house facilities for water and toilets, neighbourhoods with better linkages to markets, schools, child care, health, education and transport services, can all increase women’s ability to be more productive and participative.
CASE STUDY Including women in a resettlement project for slum dwellers living on railway tracks in Mumbai was initiated through a partnership between the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF), Mahila Milan – a women’s organisation and Society for the Pro- motion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC). Nearly 11,000 families have been provided free and permanent housing in small multi-storey apartments with about 6,000 families in ‘transit accommo- dation’. SPARC facilitated the dialogue with communities, especially women and the poorest groups, to develop and execute the resettlement plans. Besides inclusion of women in designing houses, the effort was to ensure minimum displacement with sus- tained income-earning capacity and production levels. SPARC also enabled families to save up to manage the additional demands of permanent housing. Detailed household surveys were undertaken by residents to ensure appropriate targeting and to prevent leakages. Women were able to choose the kind of housing they moved into and par- ticipated actively in developing details of the resettlement programme and managing the move. While allotting houses, existing community networks were retained wherever possible. Where this was not feasible, SPARC helped in integrating the resettled population with the host community, to mini- mise adverse impacts on both communities.
SPARC negotiated a government resolution based on socio-economic criteria rather than land-based com- pensations and an amend- ment in the State Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act in 2001 to protect all pavement and slum dwellers, who could establish that their names were on the electoral rolls as on 1 January 1995, from demo- lition without rehabilitation. They were also able to set up a people-friendly grievance redressal mechanism.
Climate change and disaster management Gender has been identified as one of several determinants of vulnerability to climate change impacts for individuals, together with age, health status, ethnicity, and (new) migrants. Individual assets and institutional factors (in particular knowledge, governance practices and urban planning) have been found to be important determinants, as well. More- over, all studies point out linkages between poverty and vulnerability. Thus, for women, several factors are interwo- ven and are likely to add up to
4 January 2013 - URBAN NEWS DIGEST
exacerbate their vulnerability. Women’s exposure to climate hazards may be greater due to their lower income for instance because of the location of low-income settlements in risk areas. Their options for coping may be limited for example because of the lack of assets and women’s duties related to family care. However, the observed gender differentials vary across countries and cities, with smaller differentials in developed countries.
However, it must be kept in mind women and girls are invaluable in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation processes if real community resilience and significant reduction of disaster impacts are to be achieved. Women must always be part of policy, planning and implementation processes.
Women and girls makeup 52% of the world’s population and are among the most affected by disasters. Their experience, knowledge and expertise are critical to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies and processes. Household adaptation measures are more likely to take root if women are included in processes from beginning to end.
As for disaster risk management policies and plans and related decision-making processes, it is widely acknowl- edged that a gender perspective is to be integrated. This includes risk assessment, early-warning systems, information, education and training, including, for instance, gender training as an integral component of education and training for disaster risk reduction.
At the International Con- ference on Gender and Disas- ter Risk Reduction in 2009, the ‘Beijing Agenda for Global Action on Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction’ was adopted, which recommends actions to be implemented by 2015. These included:
‘Foster the linkage between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation from a gender perspective through policy and administrative measures;
Collect gender-specific data and statistics on impact of disasters, carry out gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments and develop gender-sensitive indicators to monitor and measure progress;
Increase awareness of the public
and media on the gender-sensitive vulnerabilities and capacities in disasters and gender-specific needs and concerns in disaster risk reduction and management;
Support research institutions to study the cost-benefit and efficiency of gender-sensitive policies
and programmes in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction;
Secure the actual application of disaster risk assessments as part of development policy-making and programme formulation to prevent disasters from making the poor even poorer;
Improve and mainstream a gender perspective and equal participation between men and women in the coordination of disaster pre- paredness, humanitarian response, and recovery through capacity building and training;
Build and enhance the capacities of professional organisations, communities and pertinent national and local institutions to enable gender mainstreaming into all development sectors.’
These recommendations were primarily targeted at governments. However, they are also valid for local governments and metro regions, since these are the authorities to actually implement actions on disaster risk reduction, early- warning systems and response measures.
Last year on International Day for Disaster Reduction, the Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mar- gareta Wahlström, called for women and girls to take leadership in disaster management in a world where disasters are on the rise. She said, “Over half of the 200 million people affected by disasters each year are female. The best disaster
recovery programmes in the world involve women who have survived such events. If we are to build true disaster resilience we need to put the emphasis on their greater involvement before disasters strike.”
Local governance It is often easier for women to participate in local than at the national level, because eligibil- ity criteria for the local level are less stringent, and local government is the closest to the women’s sphere of life. It can be the first level that women can break into and as such it may serve as a springboard to national politics, by developing capacities and gaining experiences.
Likewise local politics can be more interesting to women as they are well acquainted with their community, being
the major users of space and services in the local community (water, electricity, waste disposal, health clinics, and other social services). They also participate actively in organisations in their neighbourhood, and it’s easier to involve these organisations in formal political decision making at the local level.
A gender-sensitive delivery system at the local level seeks to ensure that both women and men have equal access to and control over the resources and services. In order to optimally allocate and manage scarce resources, information is needed that enables municipalities to know who needs what resources, when and where. A process of consultation, that involves both women and men is a critical element for partici- patory development. The integration of a gender approach into policy, planning and management will make local development not only more equitable but also more effective. Consequently, allocation of resources to women may benefit a wider development scope in which the interests of women and men are served in a more balanced way.
Getting women into the mainstream of public office and the bureaucracy is a vital part of engendering local governance. Legislation plays an active role in supporting the oppressing structures of society and thus
in maintaining women’s mar- ginalisation in the development process. A gender-sensitive local governance has the
aim to legislate gender equality and to promote and protect women’s rights. A World
Bank study demonstrates that greater participation of women in public life reduces public sector corruption. Increasing women’s engagement in public planning and debate makes good governance sense, as it will bring about greater trans- parency and openness of public agencies.
In India, state governments are doing their bit to empower women in municipalities. Mad- hya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Chhattisgarh have already reserved 50% seats in their urban local bodies for women.
Employment Data from the 2011 census reveals that the population of
urban women in India grew by 34% in the decade spanning 2001 to 2011. In the same period, their rural population grew by just over 12%. As a result, the sex ratio for urban areas jumped from 900 women per 1,000 men in 2001 to 926 in 2011, the highest decadal increase since Independence
According to research by the Centre for Women’s Devel- opment Studies, a Delhi-based research institution, the answer to this mystery may be in increased migration of women from rural to urban areas. Migration rates are higher among more educated and higher income women compared to their less privileged counterparts, according to the report. Over 56% of graduate women in urban areas were migrants compared to 47% of illiterate women. More than 55% of women in the top 10% ranked by income groups had migrated to urban areas com-
pared to just 35% of women in the bottom 10th.
As we can see, urban areas are perceived to provide women with better employment oppor- tunities than rural areas. Thus, pro-urban planning policies are more likely to benefit women, because exclusion of women from the workforce can never spell well for a city. In this scenario, a compact city makes it considerably easier for women to reconcile the requirements of work and family, particularly those of parenting and career responsibilities. Thus, a balanced urban development takes it into account the well- being of the female population, who can and have contributed to the growth of cities since the dawn of civilisation.
Because I’m a Girl: Urban Programme (BIAAG UP) Launched last year, the Because I’m a Girl: Urban Programme (BIAAG UP) is an initiative that seeks to engage girls in cities around the world to explore questions around gender inclusion, right to the city and safe cities. BIAAG will be carried out in five cities globally including Cairo, New Delhi, Hanoi, Kampala, and Lima.
BIAAG UP’s expected outcomes include increased safety and access to public spaces for girls; increased autonomous mobility for girls in the city;
improved access to quality city services, and increased active and meaningful participation in urban development and governance. The project will last five years and UN-Habitat with its expertise in urban policy development will offer consultation for the project.
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The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has re-constituted the Planning Commission and appointed the Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister, Kamal Nath as its new ex-officio member, replacing Jai- ram Ramesh.
“Yes. There is a reconstitu- tion of the Planning Commis- sion. That was done by the Prime Minister’s Office,” the Commis- sion’s deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said. The decision was taken to put particular emphasis on urban development by the government.
The other ex-officio members of the Commission are Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Agri- culture Minister Sharad Pawar, Home Minister Sushilkumar
Shinde, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chemicals and Fer- tilisers Minister M K Alagiri, Communications Minister Kapil
Sibal, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, HRD Minister MM Pal- lam Raju and Minister of State for Planning Rajeev Shukla.
POLICY Kamal Nath appointed as the new ex-officio member of Planning Commission
New national water policy gets green signal
Bilbao Mayor Iñaki Azkuna bags 2012 World Mayor Prize
The National Water Resources Council gave its green signal to the new National Water Policy with Prime Minis- ter Manmohan Singh point- ing out that legal structures on water are inadequate. He called for judicious use of the water resources.
“We need to rise above political, ideological and regional differences and also move away from a narrow project- centric approach to a broader holistic approach to issues of water management,” he said.
The new policy seeks to solve the alarming crisis in the water sector and lay a road- map on principles of equity,
sustainability and good governance.
“We have improved on the 2002 policy to meet the challenges of the future,” said Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat.
Iñaki Azkuna, Mayor of Bil- bao, Spain, has been awarded the 2012 World Mayor Prize.
The prize is awarded by the City Mayors Foundation, the international thinktank for local government, which organises the World Mayor Project.
The prize, which has been given since 2004, honours mayors with the vision, pas- sion and skills to make their cities incredible places to live, work and visit. The win- ner receives the artistically acclaimed World Mayor tro- phy, while the two runners up are given the World Mayor Commendation.
Mayor Azkuna was the choice of the judging panel,
comprising the fellows of the City Mayors Foundation, fol- lowing a nine-month public nomination and voting process.
Nashik to offer new parking policy in industrial areas The Nashik Municipal Cor- poration (NMC) is considering allowing industry bodies to set up parking spaces adjacent to their compound walls along the road.
Parking spaces earlier put up by industries, adjacent to the compound walls along the roadside, were demolished during an anti-encroach- ment drive by the civic body and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
Now a new policy for development of the space between compound walls of industries and the edge of roads in industrial areas of Nashik is in the pipeline.
A senior NMC official said, “We are chalking out such a policy. Our major objective is to avoid encroachments along the roads and to beau- tify the roadside spaces. The industries will be allowed to
develop them on their own. We are also planning to allow them [industries] to set up parking lots adjacent to compound walls along the roads. The new policy is expected in a few months.”
In an attempt to ensure safety of the women in Delhi, Delhi Development Authority has proposed a series of pilot projects and studies under a new urban development programme. To make the capital’s transport system more efficient, the so-called transit-oriented development (TOD) programme was notified recently. The plan’s objective is to enhance individual access to Delhi’s expanding Metro rail and public bus network.
“Transit-oriented development addresses all aspects of pedestrian safety on roads, such as better street-crossings and lighting at bus-stops. Moreover,
it ensures the entire land area around Metro stations is utilised in an optimum, multi-purpose manner, which will result in public spaces becoming more active, less secluded and more accessible to all citizens,
including women, the elderly and children,” said Ashok Bhat- tacharjee, Director of Planning at the Unified Traffic and Trans- portation Infrastructure (Plan- ning and Engineering) Centre, or Uttipec.
Uttipec is an agency within DDA responsible for planning all transport and traffic infrastructure-related projects in the national capital.
DDA to implement new urban plan to ensure women’s safety
PCB wants 94-crore projects to be included in city development plan
The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has given the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) a suggestion to incorporate its development projects worth 94 crore in the revised City Development Plan (Phase II) under Jawa- harlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM). These projects include a
sewerage management system, storm water drainage system for the entire cantonment area, a sewerage treatment plant and a project involving solid waste management.
Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development, Government of India.
Iñaki Azkuna, Mayor, Bilbao, Spain.
Harish Rawat, Minister of Water Resources, Government of India.
FOCUS CITY God’s Own Capital Takes A Leap
The grass is now greener in the ‘Evergreen City of India’– Thiruvananthapuram. Thiru- vananthapuram also called Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala, was once only known for its lush flora and coastal wealth, but now it is turn- ing out to be much more than what it stood for traditionally. Apart from a super boom in tourism, shipping and seafood industries, the metropolis is rapidly progressing in industries such IT, biotechnology, education, finance and banking, studios and animation and automobiles.
The city has a population of 752,490 according to the 2011 census and interestingly there are more women in Thiruva- nanthapuram than men. The sex ratio is 1,064 females to every 1,000 males.
As the largest city in Ker- ala, Thiruvananthapuram is strategically important for both military logistics and civil aviation. Unfortunately, the city centre is increasingly facing more pollution and traffic problems, due to infra- structural blocks and environmental factors. To match up with this pace, authorities have undertaken several projects in the city.
Monorail A detailed project report (DPR) on the Thiruvananthapuram monorail was recently submit- ted by Delhi Metro Rail Corpo- ration (DMRC) Principal Advi- sor E Sreedharan. The DPR says that in the first phase, elevators will be installed at six major stations Technocity, Kazhakoot- tam, Sreekaryam, Pattom, Sec- retariat and Thampanoor. To prevent passengers from fall- ing off the platform edge onto the railway tracks, all stations will have platform screen doors (PSDs).
The monorail, which is expected to be completed by 2018 will be 22 kms long and have 19 stations from Technoc- ity to Karamana. Initial foot- fall is estimated to be around 2.46 lakh per day and 3.27 lakh by 2041-42. The project completion cost is estimated at 3,590 crore and the monorail will be fully elevated on circular pil- lars, along the median of the road, with a ground clearance of 5.5 metres.
“Initially we will deploy drivers in the train though it can run driver-less. While Route 2 will take around five years to be completed, Route 1 section from Technocity to Kariavattom can be commissioned in 30 months
after the turn key contractor is finalised. The Route 3 section of 8 km from Kesavadasapuram to Karamana can be commissioned only along with Route 2, thereby making it a ‘critical factor’ for those taking up the monorail project,” Sreedharan said.
The track would be on a two- metre wide median through the centre of NH 47. Four fly- overs would also come up at
Kariavattom, Sreekariyam, Ulloor and Pattom-Plamoodu as part of the project. The mono rail would have three cars with a seating capacity of 520.
Kerala State Monorail Cor- poration (KSMC) is in the process of hiring managers for the project. “Currently we are into the process of recruiting managers who will be asked to coor- dinate and supervise works. They won’t directly participate
in the construction work. Once through with that process, recruitment of other staff will begin,” Harikesh, Managing Director of KSMC said.
Airport as multi-modal hub A feasibility study to develop the international airport as a multi-modal hub in the transport system will be soon carried out by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). A
7URBAN NEWS DIGEST - January 2013
multi-modal transport hub concept covers all modes of transport, including air, bus, rail and water.
The airport is suitably located to draw synergies from all these modes, with minor changes. The project is being backed by the Airports Authority of India. A collaborative process between airport management and the state had been suggested for implement- ing it.
This project also looks into the cleaning of the Parvathy Puthanar canal which flows right in front of the new terminal building. Once cleaning is done, it can connect tour- ist hot-spots such as Kova- lam and Alleppey backwaters “As of now, we are just finding ways to fund this project. We have already conducted a meeting in this regard. Also, an effective technique to clean up the canal is being looked upon by the water resources engineers,” Principal Secre- tary VJ Kurien said who has been given additional charge of interstate waters in the Water Resources Department.
Tourism Last year Kerala became the number one travel destination
in the Google’s search trends for India. Kerala received 9.4 million domestic visitors last year while the number of for- eign tourists was 0.8 million.
Now the state government has got proposals to operate seaplane operations. The gov-
ernment wants to set up jet- ties from where seaplanes can land and take-off — each at Thiruvananthapuram, Kol- lam, Alappuzha and Kochi.
Apart from this, the government has an agreement with Indian Railways, where an additional bogie in Trivan- drum-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express and the Maveli Express will be added. These bogies will be converted into
a completely exquisite facility that will attract a lot of tourists.
To lure more visitors, Ker- ala is promoting green tourism. A Responsible Shopping
Corridor (RSC) has been set up from Kesavadasapuram to East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram
as part of the efforts to promote eco-conscious shopping. The main focus of RSC is to encourage shoppers to buy eco- friendly, organic and fair-price products not manufactured in sweatshops, encourage recycling and work to improve civic and health amenities at stores and shopping centres.
Business and IT hub The city contributes 80% of software exports from the
state, and was selected as the fourth hottest IT destination in India. The city was rated as the best two-tier metro with IT/ ITES infrastructure, and second in terms of availability of human talent.
India got its first and largest technology park in Thiruvan- anthapuram – Techno Park. It has over has 4 million sq ft of built-up area, and is home to over 270 companies, employ- ing nearly 38,000 profession- als. Currently work on Phase 3 of the project is going on and is nearing completion. With the commissioning of the third phase, the total area of Tech- nopark will be 333 acres, with a total built-up area 7.1 million sq ft.
The Phase IV of Tech- nopark is also referred to as the Technocity project. It involves a mixed use—IT, biotechnology, nanotechnology, commercial and residential development spread over 500 acres of land.
The new buildings, built at a cost of 292 crore, are also considered to be Asia’s largest
buildings to get Leadership in Energy and Environmen- tal Design (LEED) gold rat-
ing from the Indian Green Building Council for energy efficiency.
ChALLenGeS Solid waste and sewage management With every passing day, solid waste and sewage problem is growing bigger in Thiruvan- anthapuram, which was once considered as exceptionally clean and lush green city. The civic body hasn’t been able to come up with an integrated and sustainable solid waste management plan.
Admitting that solid waste management is a difficult task to manage, Mayor, K Chan- drika said, “Innovations are required to solve this problem. Rapid urbanisation is taking place and it is through these innovations, we can step into a clean future. People should also be made aware and actively participate.”
Drinking Water With successive monsoon fail- ure, the city faces severe drinking water shortage. The situation is likely to grow worse but plans announced by the government are yet to be materialised. In a letter to the state Chief Min- ister Oommen Chandy, local MP Shashi Tharoor has urged to immediately lay down pipelines to carry water from the Neyyar dam to the Aruvikkara reservoir which is only 10 km away. “A necessary long-term measure would be construction of check dams along the approximately 33km connecting channel between the Pep- para dam and the Aruvikkara reservoir to save excess water flowing from the former structure in times when the inflow to that dam is substantial, fol- lowing good rains,” Tharoor suggested.
Sadly, only 50% of the drinking water supplied in the city is accounted for. “Out of 300 million litres there is a record of only 150 million litres. It could be distribution loss, leak or illegal connections. If these are checked, automatically the condition will improve,” a Kerala Water Authority (KWA) official said.
To tackle the situation, the state government has initiated setting up water advisory com- mittees. The water authority has directed to install drinking water kiosks in all the constituencies.
fOCus CIty
Port Of Progress
Kochi, situated on the south- west coast of India, has never played such a major role in the country’s economy as it does today. It is a major port city in India by the Arabian Sea and is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Ker- ala Not just in terms of overseas trade, ship building, tourism, marine products and minerals, but also most recently in unex- plored multi-million dollar industries such as art. The first ever prestigious global art festi-
val Biennale, otherwise held in art capitals of the world such as Italy and Rome, came to Kochi very recently. And this is only the tip of the industrial iceberg that’s Kochi.
With a population of 601,574, Kochi is the most densely popu- lated city in Kerala. Kochi City, part of Greater Cochin region, ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. The district is also widely referred to as the commercial capital of Kerala.
To match up with city’s pace, civic and administrative
agencies have their own plans to enhance its infrastructure.
Kochi Vision-2030 The main focus of Vision 2030 is on sustainable development, water-based development, protection of the environment and utilisation of technological advancements.
Aiming to elevate Kochi to a global city and give it the status of a metro, the Greater Cochin Development Author- ity (GCDA) compiled a devel-
opment report. The report discusses every developmen- tal activity and infrastructure requirements for the city with a far-sighted vision for 2030.
The report outlines the need to introduce international technologies to better manage gar- bage. The need to have similar PPP module for sectors like waste management, health, education, government services, housing, water supply and power transport was also stressed. The Swiss Challenge method, a new bidding process that helps private sector
initiative in core sector projects, should be encouraged so that newer and better ideas are brought up by entrepreneurs.
The second phase of the development of Kochi’s Marine Drive, International Trade Cen- tre and a Logistic Centre are among the various projects that would be taken up under the
first phase of Vision 2030. Meanwhile, a team of 16
experts emphasised the need for a master plan to develop Kochi as a metropolis. The team stressed the need to put in place a Greater Cochin Metro- politan Authority – an agency with more autonomy to execute development projects in the area comprising Kochi Cor- poration, neighbouring municipalities and panchayats. “We are thinking to incorporate the
existing projects into the new scheme. This will help extend our reach to the suburb areas and satellite towns,” said GCDA Chairman N Venugopal.
Kochi Metro The foundation stone for the first phase of the 26-km Kochi Metro Rail system was laid
in September last year. The estimated cost of the project is around 5,181 crore and is expected to be completed in 2016. The first phase of work will connect Aluva to Petta and will be divided into three stages. Each stage will be approximately 8 km and all 22 metro stations will have a parking space.
Preparatory work for the system, which includes building railway over bridges,
repaving roads and land acqui- sition, is in progress. Currently Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is undertaking construction of Kochi Metro Rail project, has completed preliminary work on pathways on both sides of North railway overbridge.
The second phase of the project has also been given the in-principle nod by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL). The current plan for Phase II is to extend the metro from Aluva to Angamaly via the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, Petta to Tri- punithura and branch line from Palarivattom to InfoPark, Kochi via Kakkanad.
Out of the total cost, the Cen- tral Government will make a contribution of around 1,002 crore, the Kerala Government 1,772 crore and 2,174 crore will be raised as loan from Japan International Coopera- tion Agency (JICA). Recently, a fact-finding team from JICA inspected the Kochi Metro and expressed satisfaction over the works being carried out by Metro agencies.
National Highways/City Roads/ Water ways The National Highway (NH) 47 connects Salem to the city of
Kochi via Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur. The entire stretch of NH47 passing through Kochi and its urban agglomeration has four/six lanes.
Preliminary work on the proposed 1,400-crore ring road project connecting Vyt- tila Mobility Hub-Kakkanad- Info Park-Kalamassery is in progress. The semi-ring road will begin from the hub to Kani- yampuzha, Seaport-Airport Road, Infopark, SmartCity area,
FOCUS CITY
9URBAN NEWS DIGEST - January 2013 fOCus CIty
Kalamassery HMT premises and to Vallarpadam Container Terminal Road. “Once ready, it will make a difference to Kochi’s infrastructure,” the State Public Works Minister, VK Ibrahim Kunju, said.
A proposal to develop a 64-km long four-lane access- controlled outer ring road connecting National Highway 47, airport and sea port is also on the anvil. The road begins from Marine Drive and ends at Kum- balam on NH 47.
Even as transport development agencies discuss the need to integrate various modes of transport, the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) has come up with a plan to revamp its fleet and utilise solar energy to bring down the fuel cost. The department plans to introduce solar boats and set up chemical toilets in existing boats.
Tourism Tourism in Kochi is one of the strongest drivers of the local economy. The Kochi port is one of the leading ports that international cruisers call on reg- ularly. Keeping this in mind, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation’s (KTDC) plans to revamp its existing shopping complex and parking space near Broadway. The plan envis- aged two levels of car parking – ground floor and basement, the top floor would exclusively cater to shopping. Kiosks, res- taurants, handicraft show- rooms and other outlets, which have the potential to attract tourists, are also included in the project.
Kochi has also emerged as the country’s most-preferred cruise destination. A cruise facilitation centre, recently built with the financial support from the Union Tourism Ministry and Kerala Tourism, came into operation. The facility, set up on 1,600 sq mt area, is fully air-con- ditioned, with all modern amenities, such as duty-free shops, cafeteria/souvenir shops, cus- toms and immigration clearance facilities and X-ray scan- ning machines for baggage of embarking and disembarking passengers, among others.
Business and IT hub Over the last couple of years there has been tremendous industrial and IT-related growth in the city. The reason being good availability of electricity, fresh water, long coast- line, backwaters, good banking facilities, presence of a major port, container trans- shipment terminal, harbour terminal and an international air terminal. Kochi contributes around 14.47% of the state’s GDP, the highest among all the districts in the state. Major business sectors include construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, transportation/ shipping, seafood and spices exports, chemical industries, information technology (IT), tourism, health services and banking.
Various technology and industrial campuses, including the government-promoted InfoPark, Cochin Special Eco- nomic Zone and Kerala Indus- trial Infrastructure Develop- ment Corporation (KINFRA) Export Promotion Industrial Park-operate in the outskirts of the city.
Several new industrial campuses — SmartCity at Kakkanad, Cyber City at Kalamassery — are under construction in the suburbs of the city. Smart City Kochi is an IT Special Economic Zone under construction in Kochi with a minimum 8.8 million sq ft of built-up space, out of which at least 6.21 million sq ft will be specifically for IT/ITES/ allied services. The project is expected to create over 90,000 direct jobs.
The private operator NeST is building a Special Economic Zone specifically for electron- ics hardware, spanning an area of 30 acres.
CHALLENGES On the one hand, Kochi is wit- nessing rapid urbanisation, on the other, the city suffers from poor sanitation, vector problem, heavy pollution and unem- ployment. Kochi was ranked the 24th most polluted city in India by the Central Pollution Control Board. Water logging too has become a major problem in the
city. Though authorities have been working a suitable and sustainable way to resolve it, nothing concrete has yet come out. “We are working towards ending this problem and we are making a draft proposal now,” said Mayor Tony Chammany.
Drinking water Shortage of potable water is a major concern in the city. Very often there are water shortages in different parts of the city. The quantity of saline in Periyar river by industrial pollutants generally aggravates the entire problem.
Recent water scarcity and a drought-like situation in the district has forced Kerala Minister for Excise and Ports K Babu to take immediate redressal measures. “Emergency measures need to be taken immediately to solve drinking water scarcity in the area. We would also ask the government for relief measures,” Babu said.
The officials have been directed to extend the pipeline networks of various drinking water projects to drought- prone areas. Local bodies were also asked to submit irrigation and drinking water project proposals that could be taken up on short-term and long-term basis. Cleaning of canals and digging
of bore-wells would be undertaken on a war-footing.
Kerala Water Authority (KWA), the organisation dis- tributing drinking water in dif-
ferent areas in the city, plans a 190 mld drinking water project. As per the plan, water will be drawn from Periyar and a
treatment plant will be constructed at Kalamassery. Fur- ther, implementation of a water project planned under Jawa- harlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will be expedited. Once completed this project will ensure 100 mld water to the city.
Another ambitious project, Pazhoor drinking water scheme which took off after long delay in August last year is expected to bring an additional volume of around 100 million litres of water a day for West Kochi and its neighbouring panchayats. The 201 crore-project was sanctioned for the corporation under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mis- sion way back in 2007. The project is to bring water from the Muvattupuzha River to Kochi and its suburbs, which are facing acute drinking water shortage.
Slums Central and state government main agenda has been to clear
slums and improve the living conditions of the people. Slums in Kochi are often shifted from one place to another without
giving a long-lasting solution. The effort taken to create the basic amenities was not satis- factory for a vast majority of the slum dwellers.
Currently over 24,775 families are residing at 240 different colonies in the city. Under the central government spon- sored scheme, Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), redevelopment of slums or new houses rang- ing from 25 sq mt to 45 sq mt will be given to slum dwellers. The Union Government is also considering giving an exemption to the city to provide individual housing loans to BPL families under the RAY scheme. The civic body will be able to provide more than 10,000 houses to the homeless in the city if individual housing scheme can be provided under RAY. The government has plans to make the city slum- free by 2016.
Integrated Water and Wastewa- ter Management (IWWM) is an integration of water, consumption and the resulting wastewater generated. Wastewater can be defined as any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic (human impact on the environment) influence. The system ensures efficient use of water and con- verts wastewater into clean water for, both, potable ad non- potable purposes.
Wastewater in this con- text is converted from being a major environmental problem into a valuable resource, for the benefit of society in general. Although investment in the short term may seem high, this has a positive impact for both the economy and the environment in the long term.
The rationale for IWWM Water-related problems are increasingly recognised as one of the most immediate and serious environmental threats to humankind. Water use has more than tripled globally since 1950, and one out of every six humans does not have regular access to safe drinking water. Lack of access to a safe water supply and sanitation affects the health of 1.2 billion people annu- ally (WHO and UNICEF, 2000).
In urban areas, demand for water has been increasing steadily, owing to population growth, industrial development and expansion of irrigated peri- urban agriculture. Many parts of the world are facing changes in climatic conditions, such as rainfall patterns, flood cycles, and droughts, which affect the water cycle.
To top it of there is a press- ing problem of the generation of wastewater in the world, because an estimated 90% of all wastewater in developing countries is discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the oceans. Such discharges are one of the causes of rapid growth of de-oxygenated dead zones in the seas and oceans.
Already, half of the world’s population lives in cities, most of which have inadequate infrastructure and resources to address wastewater management in an efficient and sustainable way.
By 2015, the coastal population is expected to reach approximately 1.6 billion people with close to five billion peo-
ple, becoming urban dwellers by 2030. By 2050 the global
population will exceed nine billion. Twenty-one of the world’s 33 megacities are on the coast, where fragile ecosystems are at risk. Thus, the situation is likely to get worse in the absence of immediate action to manage wastewater successfully.
Faced with these challenges, there is an urgent need to improve the efficiency of water use and wastewater management. In this bleak scenario Integrated Water and Wastewa- ter Management has the potential to measure up to a demand- ing task.
RECYCLING AND REUSE Recycling and Reuse form the core methodology of Integrated Water and Wastewater Man-
agement. Wastewater reuse has become increasingly important
in water resource management for both environmental and economic reasons. Wastewa- ter reuse has a long history of applications, primarily in agriculture, and additional areas of applications, including industrial, household and urban, are becoming more prevalent.
With such an increase in applications, there is a con- current recognition that water resource management and proper water cycle maintenance requires up-to-date knowledge about basic practices, benefits and potential risks, capacity building of practitioners and planners, and appropriate policy frameworks to protect human health and the environment.
In cities and regions of developed countries, where
wastewater collection and treatment have been the common practice, wastewater reuse is practised with proper attention to sanitation, public health and environmental protection. The situation is different in many developing countries owing to the lack of appropriate capacity and resources to enforce strict wastewater treatment standards for its reuse.
Water and wastewater reuse has various benefits. First, recycled wastewater can serve as a more dependable water source, containing useful substances for some applications. For example, the quantity and quality of available wastewater may be more consistent compared to freshwater, as droughts and other climatic conditions tend to have a less pronounced effect on wastewater generation. With adequate treatment, wastewater can meet specific needs and purposes, such as toilet flushing, cooling water, and other applications. The reuse of treated wastewater is particularly attractive in arid climates, areas facing demand growth and those under water stress conditions. Some wastewater streams also contain useful materials, such as organic car- bon and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. The use of nutrient-rich water for agriculture and landscaping may lead to a reduction or elimination of fertilizer applications.
Secondly, wastewater reuse leads to reduced water consumption and treatment needs, with associated cost savings. In many applications, reusing wastewater is less costly than using freshwater, with savings stemming from more efficient water consumption and a reduced volume of additional wastewater treatment, as well as associated compliance cost savings. The infrastructure requirements for advanced water and wastewater treatment may also be reduced. For instance, many areas with adequate water resources and a growing urban population have experienced increased water consumption, both on a per capita and total basis. Meeting such a growing demand often requires the additional development of large-scale water resources and associated infrastructure. By meeting some of the water demand through wastewater reuse additional infrastructure requirements and the resulting financial and environmental impacts can be reduced or, in some cases, elim- inated altogether.
Finally, by reusing treated wastewater for these
Integrated Water & Wastewater Management SPECIAL FEATURE
11URBAN NEWS DIGEST - January 2013 sPeCIaL feature
Best Practice: Singapore NEWater Singapore NEWater is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapore’s Public Utilities Board(PUB). More specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane (via microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies, in addition to conventional water treatment processes. The water is potable and is consumed by humans, but is mostly used for industry requir- ing high purity water.
The Singapore Water Recla- mation Study (NEWater Study)
was initiated in 1998 by the Pub- lic Utilities Board (PUB) and the Ministry of the Environ- ment and Water Resources (MEWR). The aim of this study was to determine if NEWater was a viable source of raw water for Singapore’s needs. NEWater and desalination were explored as means to reduce reliance on water imported from Malaysia, which has been a source of fric- tion over the years. Also, while the Malaysian government is bound by two treaties to sell Sin- gapore water until 2011 and 2061, it is under no obligation to do so
after these dates. In 2001, PUB began an effort
to increase water supplies for non-potable use. Using NEWa- ter for these applications would reduce the demand on the res- ervoirs for potable water.Sin- gapore has a total of four oper- ational NEWater factories, at Bedok, Kranji, Ulu Pandan and Changi. For educational purposes, there is a Visitor Centre located within the NEWater factory in Bedok, near the Singa- pore Expo Tanah Merah MRT Station.
How wastewater turns to NEWater? NEWater is the product from a multiple barrier water reclamation process: • The first barrier is the con-
ventional wastewater treatment process whereby the used water is treated in the Water Reclama- tion Plants. • The second barrier, and
first stage of the NEWater production process, uses microfiltration/ultrafiltration to filter out suspended solids, colloidal particles, disease-causing bacteria, some viruses and protozoan cysts. The filtered water that goes through the membrane
contains only dissolved salts and organic molecules. • The third barrier, and sec-
ond stage of the NEWater production process, utilises reverse osmosis (RO). In RO, a semi- permeable membrane filters out undesirable contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, nitrates, chlorides, sul- phates, disinfection by-products, aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides that cannot pass through the membrane. At this stage, the water is already of potable quality. • The fourth barrier, and
third stage of the NEWater production process, acts as a safety precaution. UV disinfection is used to ensure that all organisms are inactive and the purity of the product water guaranteed. With the addition of some alkaline chemicals to restore the pH balance, the NEWater is ready for use.
The quality of NEWater consistently exceeds the requirements set by USEPA and WHO guidelines and is, in fact, cleaner than the other sources of Singapore’s water.
applications, more freshwater can be allocated for uses that require higher quality, such as for drinking, thereby contribut- ing to more sustainable resource utilisation.
Urban applications In urban areas, the potential for introducing Integrated Water and Wastewater Management is quite high, and it may play a significant role in controlling water consumption and reducing its pollutant load on the environment. A large percentage of water used in cities for various activities does not need quality as high as that of drinking water. So, dual distribution systems (one for drinking water and the other for reclaimed water) have been utilised widely in various countries, especially in highly concentrated cities of the developed countries. This system makes treated wastewater usable for various urban activities as an alternative water source in the area, and contributes to the conservation of limited water resources. In most
cases, secondarily treated domestic wastewater followed by sand filtration and disinfection is used for non-potable purposes, such as toilet flushing in business or commercial premises, car washing, garden water- ing, park or other open space planting, and firefighting.
Recycling wastewater for drinking The technology for recycling wastewater for drinking has existed for decades. One pio- neer was Windhoek, Namibia, which began sending treated effluent into the potable water system in 1968. El Paso, Texas, has injected treated wastewater into an aquifer since 1985, after mingling with groundwater, it eventually gets pumped up for reuse as potable water. Similar American systems, especially one in Southern California that began operating in 1976, helped inspire Singapore to go ahead with its larger-scale project.
INDIA’S TRYST WITH IWWM The Indian government is encouraging water recycling
and reuse in order to address the growing mismatch between demand and supply, and plans to offer incentives to states that adopt policies to increase water recycling and reuse.
Water reuse projects are expected to help state governments cut their total water investments by half, while also creating new capacity. Strict environmental laws now dic- tate that industrial concerns must recycle water to the ter- tiary level before releasing it back into surface water sources like rivers and lakes.
The union government wants to reward states that manage their water demand more efficiently. It is setting up a bureau of water efficiency that will benchmark the amount of water used in certain production processes.
Notable ventures Delhi has signed an agreement with Singapore to set up wastewater treatment plants that will generate ‘new water’ for the city’s consumption. The city’s water supplier, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), has been propos- ing to set up ‘new water’ plants to reduce the gap between demand and supply. The water board has signed an agreement with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and Temasek Foundation, Singapore (TF), to share their experience in planning and design of recycle and reuse of treated sewage and wastewater on a public private partnership (PPP) basis.
This programme will be sup- ported by Temasek Foundation
with a grant amount of SGD 463,149 and co-funded by the DJB. Under the partnership a water reclamation plant of 40 MGD will be set up at the Cor- onation Pillar plant and impact three to four million consumers.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has also signed a Memorandum of Understand- ing with Singapore Coopera- tion Enterprise and Temasek Foundation, to share technical expertise in reusing wastewater for potable purposes, stakeholder engagement and public acceptance.
Meanwhile, Japan Inter- national Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to fund a recycling water project, known as ‘Waste to Wealth,’ in Hyderabad at three major sewerage treatment plants (STPs) located at Amberpet, Nagole and Nallacheruvu in the city. The total storage capacity of these STPs is 541 million litres per day, with the one in Amber- pet being Asia’s largest. “The Municipal Administration &
Urban Development (MA&UD) gave us clearance to set up a recycling water project with JICA funding,” said M Saty- anarayana, Director, (Proj- ects), Hyderabad Metropoli- tan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB). After sep- arating the recycled water from sewerage water, the board will supply it to agri-based industries, tanneries, floriculture units and vegetable growing units, officials said.
The water board will also lay separate pipelines connecting the recycling plants with industries to supply water. The board will sell the recycled water after an agreement is reached with the industries and other cus- tomers. “We will fix the price based on the quantity of recycled water and location of the industry,” he said. This way, the water board would not only generate income, but will cur- tail current spending of industries, which runs into lakhs of rupees per month and also save the ground water.
In a bid to assist people from economically weaker sec- tions (EWS) to buy their own homes, the Ministry of Housing
& Urban Poverty Alleviation intends to reach out to almost a million households through
the Rajiv Rin Yojana (RRY). The project provides subsi- dised loans to marginalised people for buying houses.
According to the revised terms, a household from the EWS will be provided a loan
of up to 300,000 for buying a house with a 5% interest sub- sidy a year and a repayment period of up to 20 years.
Under the same scheme, households in the low- income group (LIG) category will get loans up to 500,000 and with the same terms and conditions.
“We have floated a cab- inet note on increasing the loan amount in the EWS and LIG category, which is under inter-ministerial consultation now. We have said we expect around a million people to benefit from the scheme. That is our target but it will depend on the funds we get from the government in the budget,” said a senior Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry official.
At present, the highest loan limit in the EWS category is 1 00,000 and in the LIG category is 1 80,000.
RBI allows $1bn ECB for promoting low-cost housing
National Housing Bank to raise $200 mn through ECB
The National Housing Bank (NHB) has announced it will acquire $200 million in the next quarter under the external commercial borrowing (ECB) window allowed by the Reserve Bank.
“We are looking at raising up to $200 million under the new external commercial borrowing (ECB) window opened by RBI for low-cost housing. We will soon approach RBI for its permission. The money will be used to fund retail
housing,” said NHB Chair- man and Managing Director R V Verma.
Though the sales figures are not encouraging in the major markets, Verma said he is expecting a 20% growth in the housing finance this fiscal. On December 17, the Reserve Bank permitted real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through ECBs in the current fiscal to endorse low-cost residential projects.
Govt keen on increasing loan amount to low-income group
The Reserve Bank of India has given the nod to real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through external commercial bor- rowings (ECBs) in the current fiscal to promote low- cost housing projects.
The funds raised through ECBs could be used either for developing low-cost housing or for providing loans up to 25 lakh to individuals for buying units with a price tag of 30 lakh or less.
Slum rehabilitation projects will also be eligible for raising ECBs. Develop- ers with at least five years’ experience in residential
projects and those who have not defaulted in any of their financial commitments to
banks or any other agencies will be eligible to raise funds overseas.
The State Bank of India, the leading bank in the country, is putting in all efforts to expand its retail home loan portfolio. According to a senior SBI official, the bank will allow existing borrowers to shift their home loan by waiving the third-party guarantor clause.
There is an added advan- tage of lower interest rate— 10% for loans up to 30 lakh and 10.15% for loans above 30 lakh. It is also revealed that SBI is offering loans for third homes at the same rate as regular home loans.
State Bank waives guarantor for shifting home loans
IDBI kicks off scheme for urban poor
The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has launched the ‘Urban Financial Inclusion Programme’ (UFIP) in Mumbai to develop and expand its banking facilities for those living out of the banking services in urban areas.
It intends to open the programme by initiating
liability business, by offering savings bank and current account facilities, recurring deposits and fixed deposits for the common man.
There is ample possibility for offering insurance and investment services to the people by imparting financial literacy, the bank said in a statement.
FINANCE
R V Verma, Chairman and Managing Director, NHB.
Better ambulances on way Rickety, old and ill-equipped ambulances will soon be shown the door. The central government is drafting a strict code for emergency vehicles with the help of an expert panel appointed by the Min- istry of Road Transport and Highways for this purpose.
As a part of the revised rules, transport vehicles trans- formed into medical vans will be phased out and new ones equipped with latest technology are to be added. The new ambulances will be in “bril- liant white”, and designed in a way that they do not break
or come apart even if they overturn.
The ceiling, interior side- walls and doors of patient’s compartment will be non-permeable and resistant to disin- fectant. The new patient cabins to be installed will also have a digital display panel to show status of oxygen supply.
Highway Ministry officials said there would be four cate- gories of ambulances based on patients’ condition — medical first responder, patient transport vehicle, basic life support ambulance and advanced life support ambulance.
As every city pledges to be safe for its citizens, so does Pan- aji, an otherwise carefree capital of the party state, Goa. The Corporation of the City of Pan- aji (CCP) is in the process of installing CCTV in key areas in the city to keep crime at bay and monitor unlawful activities.
Close circuit cameras have so far been placed at different points, including Miramar cir- cle, Church square and Dona Paula, and the drive will soon see more up. If the trial run is successful, say sources in the authorities, 28 major areas are proposed to be covered under the project. Panaji police station and traffic cell have already given their inputs to the CCTV vendor.
Public transport authorities in Ahmedabad are working towards video-taping activities inside public buses for
greater safety of citizens. The Ahmedabad Janmarg limited (AJL), which is behind BRTS in the city, is planning to put in place an electronic surveillance system by September this year.
“Electronic surveillance inside BRTS buses will be a big help,” said a senior police official, approving of the move. AJL plans to share the video footage with the police on a daily basis in order to monitor day to day activities and stay alert in case of lurk- ing danger.
State govt to implement measures to control accidents on Mumbai-Pune expressway To avoid accidents on the Mum- bai-Pune expressway stretch,
the Maharashtra state government has proposed to implement several short and long terms measures.
“A modern trauma care centre will soon be approved by
the government. It will be well- equipped ambulance,” District
Collector Vikas Deshmukh said while inaugurating the road safety fortnight programme at Urse toll plaza on the expressway.
Deshmukh said that
awareness about road safety should spread among all people and he lauded the road safety fortnight, which was being observed just at the start of the new year. He released a book- let and a compact disc on ‘safe driving’ on the occasion, and also inaugurated a special van designed to spread awareness about road safety in schools and colleges.
Every year 2,000 people die in road accidents in Pune district. “This is an issue of serious concern. The causes of accidents should be investigated thor- oughly. There is a need to have a separate driving license for the expressway,” said District Police Superintendent Manoj Lohia.
Disaster management to be introduced in college curriculum Students across India will now have the option of choosing disaster management studies as an optional subject at the under- graduate university level. In a new move, the University Grant Commission has directed vice chancellors of 566 universities to gear up to introduce disaster management as a subject. UGC has also sent out the syllabus of the concerned subject for universities to plan and prepare.
The decision comes as a part of a bigger exercise by the Union government, whereby disaster management has been put on high priority.
“If teachers and young people in each city, district, block or village can understand and
explore avenues of reducing disaster risks, efforts would contribute towards minimis- ing losses and saving lives,” said a report by a four-member expert committee appointed by the UGC, which came up with the proposal.
Panaji gets under CCTV
Ahmedabad to monitor in-bus activities
A historic five year Regional Plan of Action for the application of space technology for addressing natural disasters and achieving sustainable development goals has been adopted by the coun-
tries in the Asia Pacific region. The meeting was held under the patronage of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP) from December 18-20 and co-organised by the Thai Space Agency, Geo-informatics and Space Tech- nology Development Agency (GISTDA).
Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secre- tary of ESCAP, said, “Space
applications are more advanced and affordable than ever before, but the region has yet to experience the full potential that they can present.” National governments were also urged to use space technology and GIS applications.
Significantly, several countries offered to share satellite data, space products and services related to disaster risk management and sustainable development with developing countries in the region. Countries were also requested to improve coordination across various agencies making use of space technology and GIS applications, and ensure that these applications are incor- porated into national disaster risk reduction and sustainable development plans.
To pilot a new integrated urban planning and management model, UN-Habitat is looking for city partners to help cities build resilience against disasters.
“This is founded on the principles of ‘resilience’ which dynamically underpin and improve capacity to protect city people and their assets. Urban resilience refers to the ability of any urban system to with- stand and recover quickly from
so-called ‘critical events’,” said Dan Lewis, the agency’s Chief of Urban Risk Reduction.
The new City Resilience Profiling Programme (CRPP) will offer a forward-looking, multi-sectoral, multi-hazard, multi-stakeholder approach integrating all functional aspects of human settlements to planning and developing urban settlements through a four-year research and development initiative.
Asia-Pacific adopts five-year plan of action to reduce natural disasters
UN-Habitat looks for city partners for resilience programme
SAFETY
WATER 2013 World Water Day dedicated to water cooperation
Mumbai residents to get SMSes about water cuts
In December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation. The first World Water Day was held in 1993. In reflection of this dec- laration, the 2013 World Water Day, which will take place on 22 March 2013, also will be dedicated to water cooperation.
The campaign for the World Water Day 2013, coordi- nated by United Nations Edu- cational, Scientific and Cul- tural Organisation (UNESCO) in cooperation with United Nations Economic Commis- sion for Europe (UNECE) and with the support of United Nations Department of Eco- nomic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), UN-Water Decade
Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW- DPAC), UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), on behalf UN-Water, will focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Celebrations through- out 2013will include featured events at UNESCO headquar- ters in Paris, as well as many other events organised by various stakeholders around the world. Such events will seek to promote actions at all levels in relevant areas including education, culture, gender, the sci- ences, conflict prevention and resolution, as well as ethics, among others.
The residents of Mumbai will receive information about water cuts, water bills and other water-related information via SMS, as per the plan of Brihanmumbai Munici- pal Corporation (BMC). Cur- rently, the only way to provide such information to the public is through the media.
According to BMC officials, a software developed for this purpose is in its final stage. The BMC has high hopes that messages relating to water bills will boost revenue by way of timely payments by citizens.
Ramesh Bamble, Chief Engi- neer of BMC’s hydraulic department,which deals with water issues, said details to send the messages have been relayed to the information and technology department. Last year, the civic body had urged citizens to register their cell- phone numbers with them.
A civic official said such messages will help citizens make timely arrangements in case a tem

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