Planning for financially viable decentralized wastewater management system: a case of Gwalior (M.P.)

Abstract

Gwalior is the fourth largest city of Madhya Pradesh with population 11.59 lakh, is experiencing substantial growth over the last few decades mainly due to rural to urban and urban to urban migration from near-by areas. This increased population lead to heavily congested urban & peri-urban areas and unhealthy environment due to improper sanitation conditions. The migration and unplanned growth are also responsible for lack of adequate sewerage facilities in the city. Inadequate sewerage facilities pollute the environment and have a detrimental effect on health as well as economy. In India, the state and urban local bodies are responsible for providing basic infrastructure facilities and the Central government provides guidance and assistance through policy making and in terms of financial support. Gwalior Municipal Corporation is committed to provide efficient sewerage services as per 74 th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. The GMC has implemented number of projects in the past, getting technical and financial support from both state and central governments to improve sewerage services in city. The state government and the GMC have been implementing various programs dealing with sewerage services. However, in the absence of uniform policy guidelines, lack of a progress monitoring mechanism, multiplicity of agencies, overlapping jurisdiction, lack of political will & commitment and low awareness, the results are not encouraging. In this study, the present sewerage management system of the Gwalior city has been assessed and the issues have been recognized. Further for detailed study, the clusters are group of wards and delineated on the basis of similarity in land use, contour, population density, settlement pattern and socio-economic profile of wards. The detailed analysis of clusters has been carried out on the present management system and issues have been realized using the cluster approach. The clusters have been prioritized as per requiring the need of decentralized wastewater management system. The suitable location and technology have been identified on the basis of low cost capital and operation & maintenance costs. The study focuses on the implications of land cost, capital expenditure and operation & maintenance for decentralized wastewater management system. Further the overall cost of the system has been estimated to implement the decentralized wastewater management system in the city. Next the financial viability of the system has been analyzed, along with assessing capacity of GMC in implementing the required system.