ADB sanctions Rs 3.5 crore for 2 city projects

NT NETWORK

PANAJI

The Asian Development Bank  under its Cities Development Initiative For Asia has sanctioned a grant of Rs 3.5 crore for consultancy as well as technical assistance for two city projects taken up under the Smart City Mission namely Rejuvenation of St Inez Creek as well as 24/7 water supply for Panaji.

A related tender has already been closed on April 25 by the ADB.

The former project will consist of de-silting the 6 km-long water body as well as removing and modifying the hydraulic barriers, while the latter will witness strengthening the water supply system in the city and the implementation of 24/7 water supply, including network improvement, SCADA, automation etc.

Swayandipta Pal Chaudhuri, the CEO of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd, a special purpose vehicle formed to implement various projects in the capital city under the mission, said  the ADB is keen on supporting the cities, which have a high rate of tenacity for completion of projects, and the city of Panaji has been one of such cities as per this bank.

“The ADB felt that these two projects are bankable, have sustainability and will be delivered in a time-bound manner,” he added, observing that as per the ADB, any project that is not delivered in a time-bound manner is a project that is not delivered because of the time and cost overruns.

The IPSCDL CEO said that every project that is funded through a multilateral institution like the Asian Development Bank has to be cleared by an agency of the ministry of finance namely department of economic affairs.

“We took these proposals to this department through the ADB and the department officials were happy with the proposals although there was no obligation on the ministry of finance to clear the same,” he noted.

“The ADB will now ensure that world-class consultants, who have experience and expertise in hydrology-based water management system, are engaged in these assignments, and would further geopolitically handle the situations linked to the St Inez Creek project, as a number of illegal hutments, shanties and so on are located along the water body,” Chaudhuri informed, pointing out that the problem of the particular creek, which has been perennial eyesore in the city, is not only the city problem but an urbanisation problem pertaining to the state since wherever there is a creek, hutments mushroom due to lack of access to the proper sewerage system.

“That way, the St Inez creek has not only become a health hazard spreading diseases like malaria and dengue, but also an eyesore for the city in the aesthetic sense,” he noted.

It was also pointed out that for the first time in the history of the capital city, an entire consultancy assignment for a city project is being funded by an international development finance institution and government is not even spending even a single rupee on it.

The IPSCDL CEO further said that under the financing for the consultancy and technical assistance by the ADB, there are several processes, which have been mapped into, by making it a performance-based contract.

“As for the St Inez Creek, the original form and eco-sensitivity of the water body would be retained while converting it into a storm water drainage,” he stated, observing that despite having a reasonable supply of good quality water, the city residents still receive only between one and seven hours of water supply per day, which would be improved upon through a series of water supply improvement projects, including the expansion of the Opa water treatment plant by a further 27 MLD, the laying

of new distribution mains within the Corporation of the City of Panaji supply zone and the replacement of customer meters.

On a parting note, Chaudhuri said that after the completion of work by the hired consultancy firm, the actual infrastructural work have to be funded separately.

“But then we again intend to go back to the ADB to see if there are finances available for actual delivery of the work, as this bank has favourably looked at these projects,” he concluded.

The consultancy firm is expected to prepare a fully structured report on the projects that would be submitted to the executing agency that is the Asian Development Bank and the state government.

IPSCDL director Sidharth Kunkalienkar said that while cleaning and beautifying the St Inez Creek, the water body would be allowed enough time to heal itself.

He also expressed confidence that the city would finally see the  creek in its original form.