Karnataka gets WB loan for water sector

The Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement Project has received a $39.5 million loan (Rs 175 crore) from the World Bank. This loan will support state government efforts to enhance the efficiency, management and delivery of water supply and sanitation for urban residents.

The project will benefit about two lakh residents in the cities of Gulbarga, Belgaum and Hubli-Dharwad. The project has two main components, technical assistance to support the state government's sector reform agenda and to prepare follow-on investment projects.

This loan will also aid investment in the three urban local bodies to improve bulk water supplies and demonstrate the feasibility of continuous and safe water supply in pilot areas.

In addition to focussing on a statewide urban water policy framework, the technical assistance component will also focus on a business model for increasing private sector participation in service provision. The investment component will improve the quantity of water provisioning and attainment of continuous service.

Said Oscar Alvarado, the World Bank's task manager for this project: "The urban water sector in Karnataka has traditionally suffered from unreliable service quality and limited coverage. This loan will support the government's efforts at improving this situation by launching its urban water sector strategy, one that would then be replicated across the entire state, benefitting urban residents with clean, affordable and continuous water supply."

Added Michael Carter, country director, India, the World Bank: "A successful project implementation should open the door to widespread and quicker sector reform in Karnataka, and in other Indian states as well."