International Water Resource Expert cum Team Leader

West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project - International Water Resource Expert cum Team Leader (49107-006)
Tendering Stage
Kolkata
Application deadline closed.
Part Time
Application deadline closed.

Job Description

The preparation of an Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management (ICARM) plan aims not only to
solve salinity ingress issues but also related river basin and coastal area issues which mutually
influences the suitability and feasibility of mitigation measures. Careful preparation with engagement
and involvement of relevant stakeholders across departments and sectors, is therefore essential. The
ICARM should solve the salinity ingress issues for Public Health Engineering Department, as well as
other issues in other departments in a holistic and integrated manner which overall secures enhanced
climate change and disaster resilience in exposed coastal regions. This must be reflected in the Terms
of Reference and Proposal preparation to the Government of West Bengal. The project should set an
example of how to establish ICARMs in similar regions.
The assignment is for an international water resource and coastal process specialist cum team leader to
assist the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in taking the initial lead in developing the
concept of ICARM, in incorporating the interests and concerns of other related departments, and in
preparing a proposal from PHED to the Government of West Bengal for establishing ICARM and related
subprojects.

Project Description
ADB is supporting the Government of West Bengal, Public Health Engineering Department, in implementing
the West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project (WBDWSIP). The project will provide safe and
sustainable drinking water as per the standards set by the Government of India to over 1.65 million
people in the arsenic, fluoride, and salinity- affected selected areas of Bankura, North 24 Parganas and
Purba Medinipur districts of West Bengal (project districts). It will introduce an innovative and
sustainable institutional framework and advanced technology for smart water management to enable
efficient service delivery in project districts.
Under a grant from the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund under the Urban Financing Partnership
Facility, technical assistance was provided by ADB from March 2019 to November 2022 in strengthening
smart water management and climate and disaster resilience in selected districts of West Bengal. During
the project it was found that salinity ingress from the Bay of Bengal into ground water and surface
water resources are one important climate change impact which will pose a threat to future access to
freshwater resources. This is critical for a wide range of sectors besides from the water supply sector
depending on water resources, such as agriculture, fishery, shipping. A salinity action plan was
therefore drafted.
The proposed extension of the Technical Assistance will support development of a proposal to the
Government of West Bengal for establishing an Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management
framework with participation from various departments, a proposal for monitoring and modelling center
under such framework, and project preparation of a suite of mitigation measures to reduce impact of
salinity ingress. The project’s tentative outcome will be enhanced climate change and disaster
resilience against salinity ingress along the coastline of West Bengal.
Screening Criteria 1
The individual consultant will have 20 years of general civil engineer experience or similar (MSc)
Screening Criteria 2
"15 years of specific experience in water resource management and integrated coastal zone management in multi-disciplinary projects including stakeholder engagement and involvement"
Screening Criteria 3
"Regional or country experience is required which should include team leader experience in similar projects in India with support from development banks"

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