| Sanction Date: | 10.03.2026 | |||
| Project Category | Category II | |||
| Year | 2025-2026 | |||
| Project Duration | 3 Years | |||
| BTA : | SDCB | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Uttarakhand: - Nainital, Haridwar, Kedarnath, Champawat, Himachal Pradesh: - Manali, Keylong, Hamirpur, and Sikkim: - Gangtok, Namchi, Jorethang |
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| Organization/ Implementation Agency: | National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Core 4B, 1st and 2nd Floor; India Habitat Centre (IHC) Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 | |||
| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
| 1. | International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - Co-Lead Address- Third Floor, H-4, Green Park Ext Rd, Block H, Green Park Extension, Green Park, New Delhi, Delhi 110016. | |||
| Lead Proponent: |
Dr. Uday Arun Kumar Bhonde |
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| Project Brief Description: | The Himalayan Urban Bio-Sheds (HUBS) Project seeks to transform water and waste management in Himalayan hill towns by treating cities as ecosystems embedded within broader bio-sheds. Piloted in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim, HUBS addresses unplanned urbanization, infrastructure gaps, and ecological fragility through ecosystem-based approaches such as riparian buffers, recharge zones, and decentralized treatment. Using tools like the Urban Nature Index, Waste Wise Cities Tool, and GIS mapping, the project will assess ecological performance, identify hotspots, and guide planning. Community participation and citizen science will complement expert assessments, while pilot demonstrations, SOPs, and training modules will mainstream practices into governance. By linking science, policy, and community action, HUBS aims to improve service delivery, enhance ecological resilience, and contribute to India’s SDG, biodiversity, and climate commitments—shifting Himalayan urban planning from crisis management to ecological stewardship. | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
• NMHS/State urban development departments in project geographies |
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| Activity Chart (For 3 years) | ||||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs.1,09,822,812/- (Rupees Ten crore ninety eight lakh twenty two thousand eight hundred twelve Only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
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• To develop ecosystem-based urban water and waste management strategies for 03 cities in IHR that benefits sustainable service delivery as well as ecosystems conservation. • To improve capacity and knowledge for adopting decentralized and ecosystem-based planning approaches for water and waste management and ecosystem conservation in cities of IHR. |
Under Objective-01:
• Three ecosystem-based strategies for urban water and waste management in selected IHR cities. • Three baseline assessment reports evaluating the urban ecological performance of hill cities. • Participatory tools and methods co-developed and applied through 4–5 citizen science initiatives for assessing urban ecological status (linked to deliverable 2). • Three decentralized pilot demonstrations implementing ecosystem/ Nature-based approaches/ (NbS) for water and waste solutions. • One urban policy draft and/ or integrative framework for mainstreaming ecosystem-based approaches into urban planning processes that encompasses urban bio sheds. • SoP on defining the carrying capacities in project geographies. Under Objective-02: • Two advisories on Urban spring-shed management, Riparian buffer management in urban river stretches. • Five capacity-building modules and four training programmes for 100 officials on innovative and ecosystem-based urban bio-shed management covering water, waste in IHR. • One technical brief outlining opportunities to influence policies, regulatory frameworks, and laws for mainstreaming ecosystem-based water and waste management. • Two compendiums documenting context-specific best practices and solutions for ecosystem-based urban water and waste management in IHR cities. • Three short video documentaries capturing community stories and impacts from HUBS implementation • Two Conclaves under “Parvat Manthan” Forum reaching out to 400 officials, and sector professionals. |
Monitoring in comparison to the baseline information/ data to be provided by the proponent:
• No. of Ecosystem-based Strategies for Urban Water and Waste Management • No. of Baseline Assessment Reports along with Performance Indices; • No. of Citizen Science Initiatives and Urban Ecological Status as outputs • No. of Decentralized Pilot Demonstrations as water and waste solutions; • No. of Policy-enabling Draft and/ or Integrated Planning Framework(s); • No. of SoPs on Carrying Capacities taking into account the geographies; • No. of rivers covered with Urban Planning Advisories; • No. of Capacity Building Modules developed; • No. of Training Programmes conducted; • No. of Technical Briefs (at least 1); • No. of Compendiums (at least 2; • No. of Documentaries (at least 3); • No. of Urban Bio-Sheds managed; |
| S.No. | No. of Sanctioned Post | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 2 Sci. Consultant Grade-II | @ Rs.42,000/- + 09% HRA for 3rd Year |
| 2. | 02 Sci. Consultant Grade-I | @ Rs.90,000/- |
| 3. | 01 Consultant-B | @ Rs.80,000/- |
| 4. | 05 Consultant-A | @ Rs.60,000/- |
| 5. | Professionals for Web Development | @Rs.7 Lac/- |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | 03 Digital Water Level Recorders @Rs.1.50 Lac each, 03 Handheld water testing equipment's, handheld GPS @Rs.50,000/- each, 07 Laptops @Rs.1.0 Lac each, 03 IRS/ other satellite data procurement for mapping in 3 cities @Rs.1 Lac each, 01 Hydrological model (MIKE-SHE) @Rs.7.50 Lac, 02 Manifold GIS @Rs.1.00 Lac each, 01 SPSS package for data analysis @Rs.5.00 Lac, 07 MS Office Professional for Laptops @Rs.7500/-, 02 Google Workspace-data storage @Rs.1 Lac, 04 Adobe Suit productions of creatives @Rs.0.70 Lac, 03 Binoculars @Rs.0.12 Lac each, 01 Projector @Rs.0.75 Lac, 03 Dictaphone/ Voice Recorders for FGDs @Rs.0.08 Lac, 01 Digital Camera @Rs.0.50 Lac. | 37,67,500 |
