The Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) undertakes active research, implementation support and capacity building initiatives in the field of urban water and sanitation. Acting as a thought catalyst and facilitator, CWAS works closely with city and state governments to support them in delivering water and sanitation services in an efficient, effective and equitable manner.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ratified by all member countries, including India.  SDG 6 states “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. CWAS strives to ensure that cities in India are able to meet SDG 6.

The Center was established in 2009 with a pioneering project of performance assessment of water and sanitation service delivery in Indian cities (PAS).  PAS has grown to cover 1000+ cities, enabling informed policy decisions and actions for improvement. Recent work of CWAS includes supporting the Govt. of Maharashtra in implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission. This also entails support to city governments to attain and maintain ‘open defecation free’ status and move beyond toilets to address entire sanitation service chain including safe management of waste-water with inclusive service delivery. With water re-emerging as a focus in development discourse, CWAS is also revisiting its efforts in water governance.

Key Themes and Initiatives:

Monitoring: Developing and implementing a Performance Assessment System for urban water and sanitation. More than 1000 cities in India of diverse geography and varied levels of development have used this online system as a self-assessment tool and track their performance level. Various decision support tools and improvement plans have been developed to assist local service providers.

Sanitation: Demonstrating sustainable and equitable sanitation solutions in small and medium cities that are scalable.  Supporting cities to become open defecation free (ODF) and move towards ODF+ and ODF++. Development of policies, guidelines and strategies for the effective implementation of sanitation programmes at city and state levels.

Water: Conducting studies and preparing tools and service level improvement plans for water secure cities. Collaborating with partners through a ‘water governance hub’ to provide technical support to local governments and other stakeholders for improved water governance.

Finance: Research and policy-advocacy on approaches for strengthening financial capacity of local governments. Exploring innovative financing methods for investments in urban sanitation.

Equity: Assessing equity in service delivery to urban poor, mainstreaming gender inclusivity in sanitation and ensuring safety and dignity of sanitation workers.

Leadership


Meera Mehta

Meera Mehta

Center Head and Principal Researcher

Meera Mehta is a Professor Emeritus at CEPT University and the Center Head and Principal Researcher of the Center for Water and Sanitation. She has over 45 years of experience in water, urban development and infrastructure finance. Her experience spans countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

She served as the Director of the School of Planning at CEPT University in 1992 before joining USAID’s FIRE-D Project in India and later the World Bank and its Water and Sanitation Program in Africa. She has consulted widely for national and international agencies, including UNICEF, World Bank, ADB, WaterAid, HIC, Government of the Netherlands. She has written widely and published papers on housing, urban development, water and sanitation and financing. She is currently one of the Editors for the IWA’s WASH development journal.

In 2008, she spearheaded, jointly with Dinesh Mehta, the Performance Assessment System (PAS) Project at CEPT University, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She leads the projects with BMGF and other funders at the Center. She also contributes to courses at the Faculty of Planning, CEPT University.

She is currently a board member at IRC, a global not-for-profit organization driving resilient WASH systems across the world through research and advocacy. She was a Stockholm-based inter-governmental organization Global Water Partnership (GWP) board member. She was a member of the working group for the WHO-UNICEF post-2015 deliberations for water supply and sanitation. She has also been a member of various national and international Technical Committees related to water and sanitation.

She has studied Architecture and Urban Planning and has a PhD in Economics.

Dinesh  Mehta

Dinesh Mehta

Center Head and Principal Researcher

Dinesh Mehta is a Professor Emeritus at CEPT University and the Center Head and Principal Researcher of the Center for Water and Sanitation. He has over four decades of experience in urban policy, urban planning and management in Asia and Africa.

He was the Director of the School of Planning at CEPT University in Ahmedabad from 1984 to 1992 and later the Director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, India, from 1992-1997. He also served as the global head of the Urban Management Programme at UN-HABITAT in Nairobi from 2000 to 2006. In 2007, Dinesh returned to CEPT to pursue research and teaching. He teaches courses in urban finance, infrastructure and development planning at the Faculty of Planning, CEPT University.

He leads the Performance Assessment System (PAS) Project and other projects with BMGF and other funders at the Center. He also contributes to courses at the Faculty of Planning, CEPT University. In 2013, Professor Mehta was awarded the IWA (International Water Association)’s Development Solutions Award in recognition of his contribution to research and practice in Water. In 2017 became a fellow of IWA and Chair of their specialist group on water and sanitation in developing countries.

He has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from IIT Madras, India.

CWAS Team

Projects


Performance Assessment for Urban Water and Sanitation (PAS)
Performance Assessment for Urban Water and Sanitation (PAS)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
2009 - Ongoing | Capacity Building,Research

Technical support to the State Government of Maharashtra on urban sanitation and FSSM
Technical support to the State Government of Maharashtra on urban sanitation and FSSM

Govt. of Maharashtra, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
2019 - Ongoing | Capacity Building,Research

All Projects from CWAS

Collaborations

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

News

  August 22, 2022
CWAS enhancing urban environment in Satara
  August 22, 2022
Research
CWAS enhancing urban environment in Satara

CWAS, in partnership with HT Parekh Foundation, has supported the cities of Kolhapur and Satara in Maharashtra in implementing Faecal S...


All News from CWAS

Contact Us

Center for Water and Sanitation

Near AES Boys Hostel Campus,
University Ground, Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad - 380 009

Phone: +91 7265800060
Fax: +91 7926302075
Email: cwas@cept.ac.in