Inclusive Climate Sensitive WASH Framework for Small Town

By Anjali

The Inclusive & Climate-Sensitive WASH framework is a decision-making tool designed to empower ULBs and small towns to plan and implement WASH systems that are climate resilient. This is a work-in-progress document that will be updated with real-time learning from the ground. Small towns with less than 100,000 population stand at the frontline of the climate crisis, grappling with its harsh realities despite contributing far less to the problem than their larger counterparts. Climate change and WASH systems are deeply interconnected, with small towns bearing disproportionate impacts of climate-induced vulnerabilities such as intensified water scarcity, flooding, and degradation of already fragile infrastructure. For the residents in these small towns, WASH systems form the backbone of daily life, yet these essential services are often inequitable, poorly funded, and ill equipped to withstand the pressures of changing climate.

Cluster-Based Legacy Waste Remediation: Chikkaballapur’s Path to Sustainable Land Recovery

By Anjali

To reclaim dumpsite lands across all five ULBs of Chikkaballapur district through biomining and bioremediation, recovering resources, mitigating GHG emissions, and restoring the land. The project covers five ULBs under District Cluster - Chikkaballapur, Chintamani, Gouribidanur, Sidlaghatta & Bagepalli. Total legacy waste: 1.63 lakh MT spread across 24 acres. Implementation Strategy 1. Parallel bio-mining operations in all 5 ULBs 2. Excavation, windrow formation & solar drying for methane removal 3. Bioremediation using composting cultures→35–40% volume reduction 4. Mechanical sieving for material segregation and recovery

Decentralised Solid waste management solutions for Chintamani and Chikkaballapura

By Anjali

Understanding a town’s solid waste management system requires a clear view of its waste value chain. To achieve this, a data-driven tool the Waste Flow Diagram (WFD was applied, accompanied by a detailed field survey. Insights from the WFD revealed critical challenges such as low segregation rates, inefficient collection routes, and inadequate processing infrastructure. These findings informed the planning of targeted interventions, leading to the initiation of pilot projects on decentralised wet and dry waste management in our partner towns. Key Findings from the WFD • Chikkaballapur: Total waste generated in the town was estimated to be 34.32 Tonnes per day and per capita wet waste generation is 0.39kg • Chintamani: Total waste generated in the town was estimated to be is 30 Tonnes per day and per capita waste generation is 0.331 kg

Understanding the Climate Realities Shaping Urban WASH Resilience in Chikkaballapura district

By Anjali

Chikkaballapur district, located in the semi-arid Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, spans approximately 4,244 km² and is home to around 1.25 million people (2011). The district comprises several Urban Local Bodies, including Chikkaballapura and Chintamani CMCs, along with Sidlaghatta, Gudibande, and Bagepalli and Gauribidanur TMCs and nearby Town Panchayats. Its economy is predominantly driven by agriculture, sericulture, and horticulture, sectors that remain highly vulnerable to climatic variations. The region faces significant resource stresses, notably groundwater over-extraction and the decline of surface water bodies. With rainfall that is erratic and concentrated mainly between May and October, combined with high daytime temperatures and prolonged heat periods, Chikkaballapur experiences increasing pressure on its water and livelihood systems.

Unlocking Reuse Potential in India’s Small Towns: A Structured Approach to TUW Reuse

By Anjali

India generates 72,000+ MLD of used water daily, but only 28% is treated, intensifying pressure on rivers, aquifers, and urban water security. Despite national mandates prioritising treated used water (TUW) reuse, treatment and reuse remain at only 30% across Class I & II towns. Small towns, growing rapidly yet constrained by weak systems and fragmented governance, need a structured framework to assess and operationalise TUW reuse. The Treated Used Water Reuse Readiness Framework (TUW-RRF) provides a structured, three-stage process to help towns identify gaps, prioritise actions, and plan safe and viable treated used water reuse. It maps town characteristics (land use, topography, climate risks) and identifies priority demand centres across municipal, residential, commercial, institutional, agricultural, environmental, and industrial sectors, within and around the town, to determine where reuse makes most sense.

Following the Flows: Tracing the Total Water Flow in Emerging Urban Centres of South Asia -Poster

By Anjali

Across South Asia, a vast landscape of growing towns forms the connective tissue between rural hinterlands and metropolitan hubs. These emerging urban centers, often classified as small and medium towns, are where much of the region’s urban future is unfolding. The Following the Flows study, led by BORDA South Asia, examines how water and sanitation systems are shaped and function in such emerging urban centres. Rather than an infrastructure audit, it explores lived realities, mapping the connections, gaps, and everyday practices that define services. Drawing on in-depth interviews with municipal and state officials, water and sanitation experts, GIS mapping, spatial observations, and secondary data from urban local bodies, the study traces water’s journey from source to distribution, collection, treatment, and reuse, supplemented by stories and profile mapping that reveal the layered technical, institutional, and behavioural dynamics of service delivery. Covering emerging urban centres in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Nepal; coastal Kerala; Karnataka’s peri-urban belts; and deltaic Bangladesh, the study makes visible where breakdowns occur and why, creating a foundation for governments, development partners, and local institutions to design context-specific, loop-closing, and climate-resilient solutions, ensuring these centres not only grow, but do so sustainably, equitably, and with water security at their core.