The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide 25,796 million Japanese Yen (approx Rs.1,535 crore) as Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for the Odisha Integrated Sanitation Improvement Project (Phase II). 

The ODA loan’s conditions are at concessional 0.3 per cent interest and 40 years of repayment period (including 10 years of grace period). 

This is the additional loan for Phase I, which was signed on 30 March, 2007 to provide up to 19,061 million Japanese Yen. 

The Phase 1 and 11 put together for the project entails a total loan of 44,857 million Japanese Yen. The assistance is to provide reliable sewerage service in Bhubaneswar, and sewerage and storm water drainage service in Cuttack by constructing and improving the sewerage and drainage facilities and by supporting capacity building of related agencies. It is meant to improving sanitary conditions of the residents including the poor in the concerned areas and improving water quality of surrounded rivers. 

JICA&’s assistance is to support construction of sewerage system which includes construction of 3 Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs), with total capacity of 100 Million Liter per Day (MLD), of which 2 STPs in Cuttack are designed to treat all domestic wastewater generated within Cuttack municipal area. One STP in Bhubaneswar is designed to treat domestic wastewater generated within the city. 

The assistance also includes extensive sewer networks (nearly 700 kms) in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, as well as through improvement of drainage system (more than 20 kms) in Cuttack by undertaking repair works. 

The Orissa Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB) will execute the scheduled project. OWSSB will also be responsible for construction of sewerage treatment plants, pumping stations and sewers (including house connections), construction and rehabilitation of drainage facilities and consulting services (excluding institutional improvement). 

The Public Health Engineering department will be in charge of institutional improvement and it will undertake total water sector reforms. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) would implement social development improvement measures.

The authority will conduct public awareness campaign in both the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The current sewerage capacity in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack is woefully insufficient. For example, generated sewerage (39 MLD) in Bhubaneswar is discharged without treatment. 

In Cuttack, the current sewerage capacity is only 33 MLD, while sewerage volume is estimated to 85 MLD. The wastewater is generally being discharged into the storm water drains taking polluted water to the ultimate surrounding Kathajori and Mahanadi rivers. 

The situation worsens during the rainy season. In fact parts of Cuttack are reeling under an outbreak of jaundice largely due to leakages in water supply pipelines which are laid, in some places, in the drain.As many as 48 people have been affected by the latest outbreak of gastro-enteric diseases.