In recent times, there has been a rise in water pollution, water scarcity and the deterioration of freshwater resources in India. To address these issues, the water sector is undergoing a transformation, driven by various government initiatives and missions. The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2015, aims to provide access to tap water supply, sewerage connections and related services in 500 select cities. As of December 2024, the programme has achieved a water treatment capacity of 4,649 million litres per day (mld) and a sewage treatment capacity of 4,429 mld. Building on this progress, under AMRUT 2.0, launched in 2021, 595 sewerage projects worth Rs 681.98 billion have been approved and 31 projects worth Rs 1.69 billion have been completed.
Taking a step further, the Jal Hi Amrit scheme was launched in October 2024 to enhance used water management. The scheme aims to transform sewage treatment plants (STPs), now increasingly referred to as used water treatment plants (UWTPs), into resource recovery facilities. It aims to harness the potential of used water as a reusable resource by processing, recycling and reusing it in urban and rural areas, thereby promoting a circular economy.
Salient features
UWTPs play a critical role in ensuring water security and protecting waterbodies by systematically treating used water before its discharge. However, a major concern in India is the under performance of UWTPs. To address this, the Jal Hi Amrit scheme incentivises states and union territories (UTs) to improve the performance of STPs and ensure the production of high quality, recyclable treated water that meets prescribed environmental standards. To support these objectives, the MoHUA has allocated a total budget of Rs 13 billion for the scheme, of which Rs 6 billion has been earmarked for 2024-25 and Rs 7 billion for 2025-26. States and UTs can participate in the scheme on a first come, first served basis. As of December 2024, around 850 STPs from different states and UTs have enrolled for assessment under the scheme.
Clean water credit system
The Jal Hi Amrit scheme has devised an innovative incentive-based mechanism that aims to optimise the operations and efficiency of STPs across the country. Under this system, states and urban local bodies (ULBs) need to nominate UWTPs for participation via the AMRUT 2.0 collaboration platform. These UWTPs will be required to undergo a self-assessment as part of a comprehensive evaluation process. This involves completing a structural template and submitting the important documents to a third-party assessor (TPA). The Quality Council of India (QCI) has been appointed as the TPA for the scheme and will review the documents to evaluate the compliance of UWTPs with prescribed standards. Further, the QCI will conduct three periodic field verifications over six months. Based on the final field verification by the QCI on various assessment parameters, the UWTP will be awarded with clean water credits, as well as star ratings. These parameters include used water quality, usage of renewable energy, innovative systems, monitoring mechanisms, reuse of treated water and others. The progress of the assessment will be monitored daily, with real-time resolution of issues. Also, a mobile application has been developed by the MoHUA for the collection of field data and verification.
Capacity-building-based initiatives
The need for well-trained personnel in used water management was identified during the implementation of the AMRUT programme. To bridge the gap in skilled workers, the Jal Hi Amrit scheme places significant emphasis on capacity building. Efficient operation and management of UTWPs are crucial for achieving the targeted regulatory compliance and used water recycling standards. This will also help optimise the long-term performance of UWTPs.
The scheme focuses on improving the skills of UWTP operators and ULB officials through customised capacity-building programmes. The Administrative Staff College of India has been appointed as the capacity-building partner for the scheme. It will deliver training sessions and capacity-building programmes as per the requirements of different ULBs and their UWTPs. As part of the training, the participants are expected to receive participation certificates after successful completion of the session. Besides, the key components of these programmes are understanding UWTP technologies, standard operating procedures and environmental compliance. Additionally, they emphasise safety protocols, innovative systems such as remote monitoring and predictive maintenance, and reuse opportunities. As of December 2024, around 2,500 participants have been trained through on-site and online training programmes. Moreover, the MoHUA has organised two training sessions for assessors and samplers and specialised agencies have been onboarded for field verification and the capacity building of ULBs.
Performance-based incentives
Another distinguishing feature of the Jal Hi Amrit scheme is performance-based incentives that are granted based on self-assessment, UWTP performance and capacity-building efforts. These incentives are fund allocations, which will be disbursed to ULBs through states and can be solely utilised for improving the efficiency of UWTPs through technology upgrades, implementation of renewable energy systems and online real-time monitoring of UWTP operations. The UWTPs that obtain 3 or more stars will be eligible for incentives based on their treatment capacity, with a validity of six months. Further, the scheme has adopted a 70:30 incentive release structure which means that the UWTP will receive 70 per cent of the incentive upfront once it meets the required conditions. Additionally, it should undertake intensive evaluation and capacity building. The remaining 30 per cent will be released after it maintains its star ratings for another six months.
Moreover, UWTPs that accomplish a 5-star rating will be entitled to additional incentives if they maintain their ratings consistently for the following year. UWTPs with 4-star and 3-star ratings will be eligible for additional incentives if they upgrade to 5-star and 4-star, ratings respectively, in the subsequent year. However, there are certain conditions to be met for the release of funds as incentives. These include the creation of an escrow amount to use incentives for performance improvement proposals. It is also necessary to set up a water resource recovery cell (WRRC) at the state level to promote sustainable and circular management of used water and biosolids. These WRRCs should include representatives from relevant government departments such as urban development, agriculture, public health, state pollution control boards and ULBs.
Future potential
The Jal Hi Amrit scheme lays the foundation for producing high quality recyclable water that can be repurposed for various profitable uses across sectors in the future. It aims to generate 10,000 mld of clean water as a resource for reuse. Through its incentives, the scheme has the potential to foster healthy competition among states to upgrade their used water treatment systems, thereby adding significant value to the AMRUT 2.0 scheme. It also addresses India’s sewage treatment capacity gap by facilitating the construction of new STPs and the upgradation of existing ones. It also helps leverage the existing latent treatment capacity. In addition, the scheme gives an impetus to the state governments’ efforts to meet the MoHUA’s mandate to achieve 20 per cent of reuse and recycling of sewage in urban areas, under the National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Water.
India can also learn from global experiences to develop innovative used water management systems. An example is the NEWater initiative by the Public Utilities Board, Singapore. The initiative involves producing high quality reclaimed wastewater by purifying conventionally treated wastewater using advanced membrane techniques. This water is reused for non-potable industrial uses and indirect potable uses. Currently, NEWater fulfils around 40 per cent of the water demand in Singapore with plans to increase this to 55 per cent by 2060. Similarly, India can leverage its recent significant research and development on emerging technologies to upgrade its existing used water treatment infrastructure. These initiatives must be further integrated with the water supply network to meet current and future water requirements.
