Himachal inks Rs 817 crore pact with French agency

Shimla: To improve drinking water and sanitation services in five towns of the State, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Rs. 817.12 crore project was signed today by the Himachal Pradesh government with the French Development Agency Agence Francaise de Development (AFD).

The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri by the Secretary Jal Shakti Vibhag Amitabh Awasthi on behalf of the State Government and country Director AFD Bruno Bosle on behalf of French Development Agency.

The objective of the project is to develop better sewerage facilities in five towns of Manali, Bilaspur, Palampur, Nahan and Karsog and to improve drinking water supply in Manali and Palampur.

Under the project, Rs. 612 crore would be provided by AFD, whereas the Himachal will provide Rs. 204.85 crore.The beneficiaries of the project would receive house service connections in these five cities and the sewerage treatment plant would be designed with the cutting-edge technologies, so that the effluent could be reused for agricultural and industrial purposes.

The project aims to improve the environmental condition of water sources, reduce water-borne diseases, manage quality sanitation facilities in accordance with local regulations and international best practices and bring financial sustainability to the drinking water and sanitation sector.

Out of Rs. 425.85 crore in the first phase, Rs. 340 crore would be financed by AFD and in the second phase AFD would provide Rs. 272 crore out of a total project cost of Rs. 371 crore.

The implementation period of the project was three years and Phase-II will begin after 18 months from the commencement of Phase-I.