Guntur is the fourth largest city in the

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1 Realising DReAMS for South and Southeast Asian Local Authorities DReAMS - Development of Resources and Access to Municipal Services A European Union funded action with project contract no. ASIE/2009/ The Case of Guntur, India Guntur is the fourth largest city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India and serves as the district headquarters. It has an area of sq km divided into 52 wards with a population of above It is located about 270 kms southeast of Hyderabad. It is an important educational, political as well as commercial centre in the district. Agricultural trade in chillies, cotton and tobacco form a significant portion of the urban economy. Guntur Municipal Profile Area Sq Km Population 651, 382 (as per 2011 census) Slum Population 197,920 (before merging) Households size 131,075 (before merging) Electoral Ward 52 Average household 4.7 size The Guntur Municipal Council, constituted in 1887, was upgraded to a Municipal Corporation INDIA Andhra Pradesh Map of Guntur Andhra Pradesh Guntur in the year During 2012 Guntur Municipal Corporation limits have been expanded by merging 10 surrounding villages into the corporation. ecobu d g e t Master Budget ecobu d g e t Master Budget ecobu d g e t is an environmental management system, specially designed by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability for local governments. It provides a framework to assist in sustainable local development and effective long-term management of natural resources and the urban environment. The process runs on the lines of local financial budgeting on an annual cycle. Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has been using ecobu d g e t since 2006, when the first master budget was formulated with indicators and targets set for 5 major environmental issues: water quality, water quantity, green city, waste management and air quality. Under the Realising DReAMS project, GMC acted as a regional lighthouse city to support the newer pilot cities of Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and Thimphu (Bhutan) in using ecobu d g e t. In the project, the GMC reviewed and revised the Master Budget modifying the old targets and adding new ones. The project also introduced GMC to the PDMS software, which will be used along with the ecobu d g e t tool to plan poverty reduction schemes to benefit the urban poor in the city. Representatives of GMC visited the pilot cities to share their experiences in using ecobu d g e t and promote peer to peer knowledge sharing. Under the DReAMS project, GMC ratified the 1

2 ecobudget Master Budget in August Six environmental issues were selected as a part of the master budget and indicators were identified in each of these issues which would be monitored by the ecobudget Master Budget. This included the following: Waste Management Increased percentage of waste collection and segregation in city Water Quality/Quantity Increase in number of parameters monitored/ frequency of monitoring Increased supply of drinking water per capita Increased number of households using rain water harvesting system Health (Slum Development) Increase in number of slums developed (in terms of physical / environmental and social elements) Environment/ Green Area Cover Increased surface of green area Plantation with good survival rates of plants Increase in number of ponds and parks in city Development of a biodiversity inventory in the city Energy Energy conservation through solar lighting in parks and LED lights in streets Education Percentage increase in annual result of government primary and high schools The GMC set short term and long term targets for these indicators, on the basis of available baseline values of these indicators. Actions were identified in the city corporation and undertaken to achieve the set targets for a period of 2 years, and the indicators were closely monitored. This was reported under the project in the budget balance, giving the targets achieved after sustained efforts by the GMC on the indicators. PDMS Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) for Local Governments is a data base software, which has been developed by the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) of Bohol along with the Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF). PDMS refers to the methodology and survey tool used to conduct households surveys based on core poverty indicators, process the data gathered through a software and use the data for targeted propoor planning, monitoring and impact assessment. The PDMS software was introduced in the last phase of the project in the city of Guntur. The GMC used existing household level survey data which was already available with them for encoding into the software. The existing information was used from the slum survey conducted under the Government of Andhra Pradesh scheme Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas. The data from this survey included information at the household level regarding socio-economic status, access to education, access to drinking water supply,access to sanitation services, access to health services. In Guntur, there are 187 slums, including both notified and non-notified. This data has covered all slum households in Guntur and assesses the socioeconomic status of all the urban poor. It is envisaged that the PDMS software would help to monitor the improvement in the living standards in these areas by regular survey updation. Link between ecobu d g e t and PDMS GMC has used the following common issues in both ecobu d g e t and PDMS: Water Resource: Availability of drinking water in the slum households has been surveyed under the PDMS for the slum households. The quality and quantity of water supplied is also being monitored through the ecobu d g e t. Slum Development: The household level survey assesses the socio-economic status of the slum 2

3 laboratory. GMC is currently setting up one more water testing laboratory. The GMC is now able to conduct 2 analyses of 40 samples per day for 4 parameters including Chlorine, Temperature, Hardness and ph. population. The ecobu d g e t monitors the number of slums with better infrastructure for sanitation, roads, schools etc, thereby indicating the overall well being of the slum population by improved urban services. Education: The survey under PDMS focused on the education level literacy and school dropouts - in the slums. In order to improve the education level in the city in general in municipal schools, ecobu d g e t is monitoring the annual pass percentages in the schools. Result Water Resource (Water Quality/Quantity/Rain Water Harvesting) Water quality and quantity were among the priority issues for GMC for improvement. It was a priority issue ever since first ecobu d g e t master budget was formulated. Before implementation of master budget, GMC was monitoring two parameters namely residual chlorine and temperature in drinking water, which was supplied to households. GMC has been trying to increase the number parameters monitored to 14 and also frequency of analysis with 2 samples per day at each reservoirs (GMC has 20 reservoirs i.e. 40 sample per day). In order to achieve this goal, GMC has installed Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to view the status of their water system and assess leakage and loss of water from each reservoir. The system can monitor flow and pressure of water from water source and residual chlorine in water. Guntur is already using mobile water testing Jaltara kits (approved by UNICEF) and has a water quality testing The World Bank has given an aid of Rs 4,600 million under its water supply scheme, which GMC has used for automation of chlorine control through SCADA. In order to increase the supply of potable water in city, GMC had granted Rs. 83, 83,000 for extending pipelines for uncovered areas. Before the implementation of master budget only 70 MLD water were supplied to households by the GMC. At the end of the 2012, GMC achieved a marked improvement with 97 MLD per capita supply of potable water. Rapid urbanization and increase in population have increased pressure on water resources of the city, leading to extraction of ground water and subsequent depletion of the water table. In order to tackle the problem, GMC announced that they will increase their percentage of households using Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) from 1% to 5% at the end of master budget. Corporation has started awareness programmes on RWH and GMC made RWH mandatory for any new construction like multi-storeyed buildings, hospitals, commercial complex etc. As a result of this, the city has 400 percolation pits and 28 storm water pits at present. Health (Slum Development) Guntur is a rapidly developing city with a population of 6,51,382 persons (as per 2011 census) of which 1,97,920 are slum dwellers. GMC has adopted the Central Government scheme Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) with an objective of holistic slum development with a healthy and enabling urban environment by providing adequate shelter and basic infrastructure 3

4 facilities such as new houses for poor, sanitation, water supply, roads, drainage, street lighting, sewerage etc. There are around 187 slums (133 notified and 54 non-notified) of which 48 slums have been developed under IHSDP scheme till date. GMC has been planning to develop remaining slums under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) project. Education (Municipal Schools) The poorer families in Guntur cannot afford to pay fees to private schools for their children s education. These people generally send their children to a municipal school, which educate most marginalised children. In order to give these children their right to good education, GMC has taken special steps to improve and strengthen the education system in municipal schools, such as: Special classes scheme for all high school children. Distribution of study material and minimum learning material (for slow learners) free of cost. Encouraging schools to participate in science fairs organized by GMC. Municipal Corporation appointed its section heads as special officers for all high schools to review the school s education facilities. Educational excursions for students on municipal grants. Students are provided by printed assignments for evaluating and monitoring their concepts. As a result of these activities the academic performances of the municipal schools (both high schools and primary schools) showed an improvement. As compared to a 78% who had passed the high school exams last year the figure increased to 85 % who cleared the exam this year ( session). Primary schools were also marked good results (98% students were passed in session). Key findings/ Lessons Learned In Guntur, the implementation of ecobu d g e t Master Budget faced fewer challenges since they already had an experience of implementing this tool and reporting on master budget indicators. However, an important challenge faced was the lack of personnel in the Corporation who could devote enough time for monitoring the trend of the master budget indicators. This was solved to some extent by hiring a contractual employee who could gather and collate information from different departments and report to the administrative head in the corporation. It is therefore important to have a separate office who will take care of the implementation of the ecobu d g e t Master Budget even after the duration of the project. The Master Budget indicators should be presented in the Council meetings to encourage the political wing of the Municipal Corporation to be aware of the improvements and also serve as a monitoring body for the administration. The Master Budget indicators chosen, although relevant for the city to monitor, included some indicators which were difficult to monitor such as survival rates of planted trees. In such cases, data collection was a challenge, and reported data from relevant departments of the corporation were taken to monitor the indicators. How is ecobu d g e t funded in Guntur The environmental Master Budget was first introduced with support of European Commission s Asia Urbs programme in Guntur City. Realising DReAMS project was also an EU funded project, and the staff related expenses incurred by the local team in implementation of the project were met with the funds provided by EU. However, the Master Budget indicators were based on ongoing or proposed governmental schemes, and indicators chosen were dependent on the priorities of the government developmental schemes available. This ensured that the municipal corporation had sufficient funds allocated for the activities to be undertaken through the Master Budget. The Municipal Corporation also set aside funds in their budget for these activities. 4

5 Master Budget Balance of Guntur Resource / Indicator Unit of Measure Reference Year Water (Quality / Quantity & Rain Water Harvesting) Number of parameters monitored / Frequency of monitoring Drinking water supply No of analysis per month, at each reservoir, on a basis of 40 samples per day Current value (2009/ 2010) Parameter with 2 samples at each reservoir (40 samples/ day) Short-Term Target (2012 / 2013) 4 Parameters with 3 samples at each reservoir (40 samples/ day) MLD MLD 95 MLD of drinking water to be supplied to at least 2 pilot areas. Rain water Harvesting % 2010 No. of houses using RWH system is less than 1%. To cover 5% of the total HHs in GMC. Solid waste (DTD) Waste collection (% of citizen served) 2010 No correct data available Target Achieved Measures undertaken Budget Balance 4 parameters tested with 2 samples at each reservoir (40 samples/ day) Developed SCADA. Construction of a new water testing lab is going on and it will be completed shortly. Automation of controlling chlorine through SCADA System 67% MLD of drinking water is supplied to the entire Guntur City Source: SCADA report. With the SCADA system developed during 2011 the entire water supply, water shortage areas and leakage areas are monitored. Through this the water wastage areas are identified and controlled regularly. Online water supply database is maintained every day. The World Bank aided water supply scheme for GMC which is in tender phase is expected to be completed by Once this project is completed the availability of treated water will be 190 MLD. Rs. 83,83,000/- is granted for extending pipelines for uncovered areas. Less than 1%. Conducted Water Harvesting awareness programmes and IEC activities in Guntur city. GMC made Rain Water Harvesting mandatory system for any new constructions like multi storied buildings, hospitals, commercial complexes, etc, in Guntur City. In 2012 the no. of percolation pits are 400 and storm water pits are 28. The total no. of HHs in Guntur city as per 2011 census is 1,31, % (More than 100%) 0% 60% collection and 25% segregation Purchase of 28 auto rickshaws and 300 tri-cycles for door to door garbage collection. Purchase of 14 number of Tractors in 12th Finance Commission Grant. Launching of Community Based Scheme by involving NGO S for Door to Door garbage collection achieved. 70% for collection and 42% for segregation 5

6 Resource / Indicator Unit of Measure Reference Year Environment / Green city (% of green area / plantation) Surface of green area m2 per 1000 inhabitants Current value (2009/ 2010) Plantation Number saplings with uncertain survival Short-Term Target (2012 / 2013) m2 per 1000 inhabitants Target Achieved Measures undertaken Budget Balance saplings planted with 20% survival Encouraging Avenue Plantation with public participation. Tree re-erection programs are being conducted by GMC. All most all the road medians are covered with greenery. GMC is planning to develop the remaining medians as green areas with the involvement of private agencies and to develop green belts along State and National highways. In May 2012, 10 Panchayats were added under GMC accounting to Sq.kms area, 7,52,000 population and 76.3 acres of green area = sq. m. Growing of plants is regularly monitored by NGO s. 10,200 samplings are planted in 2012 in addition to 4,000 samplings planted in 2011 along the road sides, islands of the road junctions and in parks. 20% Survival 100% (More than 100%) 23% Ponds / Parks Number parks are developed with greenery. Walking tracks are constructed around the ponds One pond is completed and remaining are under process Four ponds namely Nallacheuruvu, Koritipadu, B.R. Gardens and Chuttugunta ponds are identified for the beautification and treatment of water. GMC Provided Rs. 1,00,000 /- to Acharya Biodiversity (Flora) Inventory of flora inventory of flora in Guntur Nagarjuna University, Department of Environmental Sciences to start a project Titled FLORA OF GUNTUR CITY in Project is completed and draft report has been submitted in GMC. 50% 100% 6

7 Resource / Indicator Unit of Measure Reference Year Health (slum development) Slums Number of slums developed (in terms of physical / environmental and social elements) Energy Energy conservation Solar lighting in parks & LED lights in streets Current value (2009/ 2010) Short-Term Target (2012 / 2013) slums 48 Slums are developed with basic Infrastructure % Out of 19 parks solar lights was implemented in 5 parks Out of streets lights 1850 was replaced with LED Target Achieved Measures undertaken Budget Balance GMC Started a program Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program for slum development with an objective to strive for holistic slum development with a healthy and enabling urban environment by providing adequate shelter and basic infrastructure facilities to the slum dwellers. The project focuses on slum improvement, construction of new houses for the poor, provision of infrastructure facilities like roads, water and sewerage. GMC is planning to develop all remaining slums under RAY Project. The project will be completed by 2014 March Provided adequate machinery for Operations and Maintenance. 20 LED lights are provided in streets for demonstration purpose. Provided adequate no. of street poles and lights as per standards. Secured public places for providing solar lighting system. Central lighting for main avenues is being planned with LED lights. Solar lighting was successfully implemented in 5 Municipal parks and 2 more government premises and tenders are called for taking up solar lighting in 5 more municipal parks and 4 Municipal schools. 100% For Solar Lights : 29% Target achieved For LED: 9 % target achieved 7

8 Project Supported by Target Achieved Measures undertaken Budget Balance 36% Project Partners Short-Term Target (2012 / 2013) Conducted Special classes to all the classes before and after school hours. Providing study materials to all students free of cost. Appointing all Section heads as special officers to all high schools to improve the standards of the schools both in academic and infrastructure wise. Conducted excursions by paying the travelling expenses from municipal grants. Minimum learning material is provided to slow learners. Science fairs were conducted complex wise. GMC is also encouraging the schools to participate in science fairs and in some events related to green initiatives, clean environment, etc. For primary schools the pass outs are based on the attendance 84.2% (high schools) 100% 98% (Primary Schools) Current value (2009/ 2010) Unit of Measure Reference Year Resource / Indicator % (High Schools) Education (municipal schools) Municipal Result in pass % Schools (high schools and primary schools) 95% (Primary Schools) This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Realising DReAMS Consortium and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Contact Municipal Commissioner Guntur Municipal Corporation Opposite Gandhi Park, Guntur Andhra Pradesh, India Phone: commissioner@gunturcorporation.org 8