Water supply and sanitation services in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh will get a big boost with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India on Monday signing a $96.3-million loan agreement to provide safe drinking water and improving water supply and sanitation services in the state.

While more than 90 percent of the state’s rural population has access to drinking water, the water supply infrastructure needs a revamp for an efficient and improved service. The ADB project will connect 75,800 households to the service to ensure uninterrupted water supply to about 3,70,000 residents across the 10 districts, said the Union Ministry of Finance in a statement on Monday.

The project aims to construct 48 groundwater wells, 80 surface water intake facilities, 109 water treatment plants, 117 pumping stations, and 3,000 km of water distribution pipelines. A pilot faecal sludge management and sanitation programme will also be implemented in Sirmaur district, benefiting 2,50,000 residents.

The signatories for Himachal Pradesh Rural Drinking Water Improvement and Livelihood Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, and Department of Economic Affairs, who signed on behalf of the Central government, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director for the ADB in India, who signed for the ADB.

After signing the loan agreement, Mishra said the project is aligned with the objectives of the Government of India’s Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024 and it will upgrade water supply infrastructure and strengthen institutional capacity to ensure safe, sustainable, and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services.

“ADB’s involvement in the project will provide water management best practices, strengthen institutional capacity, and guide tariff reform,” added Konishi. “These interventions will address the government’s aim of providing uninterrupted pressurised water supply to households, inclusive sanitation services, strengthening operation and maintenance for sustainable service delivery, and building capacity of relevant staff.”

The project will strengthen the capacity of the Jal Shakti Vibhag of the Government of Himachal Pradesh and Gram Panchayat village water and sanitation committees. It will support the state government’s water tariff policy reforms and introduce an asset management system at the state-level and district asset management plans.