The Tamil Nadu government has launched an independent environmental and social audit of 28 major water supply and underground sewerage projects being executed across 21 urban local bodies, while also commissioning a dedicated study on manual scavenging and hazardous sewer-cleaning practices. The move is part of the state's ongoing urban infrastructure reforms under a World Bank-assisted initiative.

The Programme Behind the Audit

The projects fall under the Tamil Nadu Climate Resilient Urban Development Programme (TNCRUDP), a six-year scheme running from 2024 to 2030, approved by the World Bank in December 2023. The programme aims to strengthen water security, improve climate resilience, and modernise urban governance across Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Ltd (TNUIFSL), the designated implementing agency, has floated bids to appoint an independent consultant to conduct the audit. The exercise will assess whether urban local bodies and implementing agencies have adhered to the environmental and social safeguards prescribed under the programme during 2024–25.

What the Audit Covers

The audit spans four categories of infrastructure works. The first includes seven underground sewerage schemes — covering only sewer collection networks — in Salem, Thoothukudi, Karaikudi, Tiruvarur, Krishnagiri, Theni and Avadi. The second covers seven underground sewerage systems that include sewage treatment plants, located in Tiruvannamalai, Pudukkottai, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Cuddalore, Dindigul and Kancheepuram.

The review also extends to a city-wide water supply improvement project in Kancheepuram and 13 pilot projects providing round-the-clock water supply in Avadi, Karaikudi, Pudukkottai, Tiruchy, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Cuddalore, Dindigul, Tambaram, Nagercoil and Rajapalayam.

Manual Scavenging Under the Lens

A critical component of the assignment is a comprehensive study on manual scavenging and hazardous sewer cleaning — a long-standing concern in India's urban sanitation sector. The study will examine the policy and legal framework governing sewer maintenance, identify implementation gaps in urban local bodies, analyse situations that necessitate hazardous sewer entry, and investigate past incidents through field visits and consultations with officials, contractors, and sanitation workers.

It will also review existing standard operating procedures, training programmes, and safety practices across the sewage management chain. This comes amid persistent concerns nationally about the pace of eliminating manual scavenging despite legal prohibitions.

Process and Timeline

The consultant will classify findings under four categories: compliance, non-compliance, best practices, and areas requiring improvement. Where shortcomings are identified, the consultant must revisit projects after corrective measures are implemented and verify compliance before submitting the final report.

The three-month assignment will begin with a preliminary compliance report within two weeks, followed by a draft report for review by implementing agencies and the World Bank, before the final report is submitted. The audit operates within the World Bank's Programme-for-Results financing model, which mandates independent verification of commitments under the Programme Action Plan.

With Tamil Nadu positioning itself as a model for climate-resilient urban development, the outcome of this audit is likely to shape the programme's next phase and inform similar initiatives in other states.