FORUM Water for Asian Cities - the Indore case By André Dzikus and Pieter van Dongen The north-west Indian city of Indore has been suggested as the first city to benefit from UN-HABITAT's new Water for Asian Cities programme. The main city of Madhya Pradesh state, Indore has a population of 1.6 million with a high annual growth rate of 4.6 percent. But it is located in a region where water is scarce. The problem is such that the city is able to provide its residents with roughly half of the water usually provided in India of 67 litres per capita per day, as against the norm of 135 litres per day. It is exacerbated by the fact that about 32 per cent of its residents do not have access to piped water, forcing the poorest of all to depend on hand pumps or water vendors for supplies. The city depends for 80 per cent of its water on Narmada River, some 70 kilometres away. The distribution network is ageing and suffering from low maintenance and a lack of investment. Unaccounted-for water constitutes 52 per cent of the total water production. And those lucky enough to have piped water only receive intermittent supplies of an hour or two a day. A typical rainwater harvesting cycle. Diagram © UN-HABITAT The north-west Indian city of Indore has been suggested as the first city to benefit from UN-HABITAT's new Water for Asian Cities programme. The main city of Madhya Pradesh state, Indore has a population of 1.6 million with a high annual growth rate of 4.6 percent. But it is located in a region where water is scarce. The problem is such that the city is able to provide its residents with roughly half of the water usually provided in India of 67 litres per capita per day, as against the norm of 135 litres per day. It is exacerbated by the fact that about 32 per cent of its residents do not have access to piped water, forcing the poorest of all to depend on hand pumps or water vendors for supplies. The city depends for 80 per cent of its water on Narmada River, some 70 kilometres away. The distribution network is ageing and suffering from low maintenance and a lack of investment. Unaccounted-for water constitutes 52 per cent of the total water production. And those lucky enough to have piped water only receive intermittent supplies of an hour or two a day. This seeks to maximise the existing water supply system through water demand management measures, augment supplies to unserved low-income areas, improve sewerage collection, and provide sanitation to unserved areas. It is also intended to improve municipal solid waste management through improved collection, and safe treatment and disposal. The Indore investments are estimated at US$ 130 million. They will be part of a larger ADB loan under the Integrated Urban Development Madhya Pradesh (IUDMP) project. The investment component of the programme, which is led by ADB, will be complemented by a capacity building, awareness and education component led by UN-HABITAT. Canadian International Development Agency will also support an initiative on urban governance. The Water for Asian Cities programme will address the promotion of pro-poor governance and institutional development, tackle water conservation and demand management, and promote integrated environmental sanitation through demonstration of technological options and hygiene awareness creation and education. It will also address income generation for the urban poor through community-based water and sanitation services. The Water for Asian Cities programme was first announced at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa last year, and officially launched by Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and Mr. Tadao Chino, President of ADB, at the Third World Water Forum in Japan in March 2003. André Dzikus is a Human Settlements Officer in the Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch of UN-HABITAT and a Programme Manager of the Water for African and Asian Cities programmes. Pieter van Dongen is a Water Resources Consultant.