Comparative Analysis of Urban Sanitation Benchmarking of City and Towns of Amritsar District, Punjab, India

Abstract

In India, the urban areas are rapidly increasing with a higher concentration of population in limited areas. It demands a higher concentration of the urban infrastructure in the limited urban space. To keep the cities and towns as economic drivers of the nation, it is important to focus on the basic infrastructure which should be resilient over the long run. Providing a safe sanitation network is still a major challenge in small and medium-sized towns.  Unsanitary conditions often result in poor health, especially among children. To measure urban local bodies' performance and delivery services, Service Level Benchmarking has been prepared by the erstwhile the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) now known as MoHUA. It involves measuring and monitoring key urban infrastructure including water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, and stormwater management. This paper assesses the sanitation service level benchmarks of the cities and towns of Amritsar district, the second-largest district in population, of the Punjab state. It has been found that the small urban areas lack sanitation facilities and untreated wastewater is added into the water bodies, drains, open land, etc., raising an alarming concern over the health of the people.