health infrastructure impacts differential impacts on poor

CASE STUDY: INDORE ACCCRN India: Synthesis Report – Volume II 18 19

3.4.4 health

Vector borne disease outbreaks have become more common over last decade due to combined effects of urban development without suficient drainage and poldering effects of road construction resulting in prolonged water logging of some of the areas. Integrated drainage development has not been done so far. Only about 20 of roads have drainage. Poor solid waste management has further blocked the natural drainage. Along with water logging, increase in humidity, increase in minimum temperatures are likely to extend the disease vector viability periods and may worsen the disease incidences.

3.4.5 infrastructure impacts

With Suficient storage along the upstream stretch of the river basin, water resource at Narmada River is not a major issue in the coming decades, but this source needs signiicant energy for pumping. The combined effect of increasing electricity demand without concurrent increase in generation capacity and competing uses can impact the Narmada water supply system, which is dependent totally on electricity. The city water supply can be impacted severely if the electrical system is over loaded, especially during summers when the local sources dry up. To overcome the road maintenance problems in black cotton soil terrain, the IMC has been laying concrete roads in important stretches as well as in slum areas prone to water logging. Unless large funds are available, these measures are unlikely to cover most of the road network. The existing roads may be affected by rains and increased temperatures, causing increased expenditures. Increasing intensity of rains without suficient storm water drainage and sewerage network is likely to contribute to the deterioration of road infrastructure in expanding black cotton soils as well as increase waterlogging.

3.4.6 differential impacts on poor

Signiicant proportions of slums in Indore are located along the streams and are prone to lash loods. Slums are also most vulnerable to waterlogging and vector-borne diseases due to their location. Under various donor funded programmes, improvement of drainage and road network are being attempted. But the outcomes of such measures often do not last beyond the project periods. The recent donor funded programme, MPUSP, has overcome many of these issues, but the issue of solid waste management still needs attention to provide sustainable solutions. Sustainability of community based organizations created by the project would necessitate continued engagement by the ULB. The temperature increase is also likely to cause differentially higher impacts on poor due to overcrowded settlements, low ventilation and poor vegetation cover. Since most poor cannot afford space cooling devices beyond fans, nor the increasing costs of electricity, they are likely to be impacted differentially. During the monsoons, high humidity conditions, combined with increased monsoon temperatures can increase discomfort in under-ventilated houses.

3.5 issues aNd imPaCts summary