first meeting of Project Governance Committee for 24X7 Water Supply Project held under the Chairmanship of Sh. Manoj Parida, IAS, Adviser (PAN City)

Chandigarh.19th May,2021: The first meeting of Project Governance Committee for 24X7 Water Supply Project (PAN City) funded by Agence Francaise De Development (AFD) and European Union was held under the Chairmanship of Sh. Manoj Parida, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, U.T., Chandigarh , today wherein the dignitaries from AFD and European Union were also present through online video conference. The Chairman welcomed the participants and appreciated the understanding of AFD and European Union for the need of 24X7 Water Supply System in the city for sustainable environment and energy efficiency, as well as to improve the quality of life for the citizens. Sh. Bruno Bosle, Country Director AFD India expressed his delight to be a partner in the strategic growth of city and particularly mentioned the impact of Gender Action Plan Component of the project for Women Empowerment in the city. Sh. Daniel Hachez, Head of Cooperation, Bangkok EU mentioned the years old relationship with Europe and Chandigarh and expressed his gladness to be a part of the financing of this project as a grant, particularly financing of long term technical assistance (LTTA), capacity building, Gender Action Plan and installation of Smart Water Meters for lower income group and economically weaker section of the city. Sh. K.K. Yadav, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh gave detailed presentation on the scope of project, procurement plan, terms of the contract and other components of the project. The Committee reviewed all the documents and the same were approved by the Chairman for submitting to AFD and Govt. of India for their approval. The Credit Facility Agreement (CFA) between Govt. of India through Department of Economic Affairs and AFD is expected to be signed in the month of July, 2021. After the signing the Credit Facility Agreement (CFA), an agreement is expected to be signed between AFD and Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh in the month of September, 2021 and the first installment of loan is expected in the month of December, 2021. The Chairman directed that besides completing all the formalities, the preparation of tender documents and hiring of LTTA should be done simultaneously to speed up the start of work. Other who were present in the meeting were Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, IAS, Principal Secretary, Local Govt. U.T., Chandigarh, Sh. Delphine Brissonneau, Programme Officer, EU Delegation, India, Sh. Ankit Tulsyan, AFD Sector Manager for the Water and Sanitation Portfolio India, Sh. N.P. Sharma, Chief General Manager, Chandigarh Smart City Limited, Chandigarh, Sh. Shailender Singh, Chief Engineer, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, Ms. Nalini Malik, Chief Finance Officer, Chandigarh Smart City Limited, Chandigarh.