Draft – NOT FOR CIRCULATION

Census 2011 (provisional) results have indicated that nearly 17 million urban households (more than 20 percent of the total 79 million urban households) suffer from inadequate sanitation. According to the report of the Central Pollution Control Board (2009), the estimated sewage generation from Class- I Cities and Class- II Towns is 38254.82 million liters per day (MLD) out of which only 11787.38 MLD (30%) is being treated and the remaining is disposed into the water bodies without any treatment due to which three-fourths of surface water resources are polluted. The Ministry of Urban Development conducted a rating of class I cities on sanitation related parameters in 2009-10. Out of 423 cities, only four were in the blue category scoring more than 66 points out of 100. No city achieved the distinction of being a green city i.e. a city scoring more than 90 out of 100. According to the Constitution of India, water supply and sanitation is a State subject and the States are vested with the responsibility for planning, implementation of water supply and sanitation projects including O&M and cost recovery. In recognition of the need for a special focus on sanitation, the National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) was adopted in October 2008 with a focus on elimination of open defecation, integrated city wide sanitation, proper O & M of all sanitary installations etc. The initiatives under the policy include rating of cities, awareness generation and support to cities for preparation of city sanitation plans. The Ministry has adopted service level benchmarks for the water and sanitation sector with a view to shift the focus of urban development projects from infrastructure creation to improvement of service levels. The handbook of service level benchmarks can be accessed a