World Bank project to improve water and sanitation in estates
View(s):A 5-year World Bank funded programme to improve water and sanitation in plantations in the Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Hatton regions with a financial commitment of more than Rs. 1,800 million, will commence this year, Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) said in a joint media release. The project will benefit over 16,000 households in 20 estates and encompass 220 individual water projects as well as the construction of over 8,000 toilets. The release said another 5-year World Bank funded programme aimed at uplifting pre-school education will provide more than Rs. 1,400 million to construct 140 new CDCs as well as 175 play areas, upgrading 175 existing Child Development Centres (CDCs) and 210 existing play areas. All of the new CDCs/playgrounds would have all facilities and will be fully-equipped with necessary furniture and play items as per required standards.
The programme will be implemented in all seven plantation regions of the country. The release said that the quality of life of the nearly one million population residing in RPC estates is set to improve substantially as a result of these projects, particularly initiatives focused on providing new individual housing, Child Development Centres (CDCs), sanitation facilities and access to safe drinking water. RPCs said their estates have witnessed significant improvements in many social and health indicators including housing and sanitation, child care and development, primary education, female empowerment, as well as reduction of child and maternal mortality and poverty, since privatisation of estates by the government in 1992.
For instance, based on the figures of the Department of Census and Statistics, poverty in the estate sector has shown a remarkable decline of nearly 28 per cent (from 38.4 per cent in 1995/96 to 10.9 per cent in 2012/13). These gains were achieved through the actions of many stakeholders including the RPCs, the government, the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), INGOs, donor agencies, etc. “However, given the vast number of estate residents and the complex nature of the issues, there is consensus that further progress is required in a number of spheres. Many of these would be addressed by the upcoming projects, thereby further improving the living conditions of RPC estate residents,” the release said.