Central Public Health And Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), 1966

Policy Update
Fatima Firdaus

Background

The Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), established under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India is the nodal technical organization responsible for policy, guidelines and standards related to urban water supply, sanitation and environmental engineering. CPHEEO was set up in 1966 and continues to emphasize the importance of urban local bodies in the promotion of public health through improvements in water supply, sanitation and waste management.

It has been set up with the aim of achieving sustainable urban infrastructure, improving water quality, reducing environmental pollution and improving the overall public health outcome. CPHEEO is the authorisation body for related flagship schemes including the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). In India, CPHEEO primarily benefits urban dwellers and by helping municipalities and state agencies to recognize and use standards and best practices with respect to water and sanitation engineering.

Introduction

The Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) is a premier technical advisory institution under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. The CPHEEO was established with a view to improve public health infrastructure in urban areas. CPHEEO plays an important role in the development of technical standards, guidelines and policies in the domains of water supply, sewerage and sanitation and environmental engineering in urban or metropolitan areas.

With India in a rapid stage of urbanisation, has resulted in a soaring demand for urban public health services that are sustainable and efficient. CPHEEO has primary supply and demand-side responsibilities. These duties extend into areas beyond just doing technical support to flagship government schemes like AMRUT and Swachh Bharat Mission. The CPHEEO also promotes capacity building, research, and innovation to develop solutions for urban-based problems that previously were not explored. This article examines CPHEEO’s operation, performance, and impacts to develop urban health infrastructure in India in relation to the increasing size of the urban population in India.

Functioning

Technical Advisory Role: CPHEEO acts as the lead technical advisory agency to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for urban water supply, sanitation and environmental engineering. It formulates standardized technical guidelines, model bye-laws and manuals for urban local bodies to carry out their infrastructure projects with efficacious design and execution.

Policy Formulation and Dissemination: The agency has an important responsibility to frame policies and guidelines which resonate with the national urban development agenda. To meet this end, CPHEEO prepares and updates policies and disseminates information on its policies regularly to stakeholders on urban infrastructure development, through circulars, manuals and during workshops.

Capacity Building and Instruction: One of CPHEEO’s primary modus operandi is to enhance the technical and managerial capacity of municipal engineers, planners and authorities. Regular organization of training programs, seminars or workshops on new technologies and best practices in sustainable water supply, sewerage, solid waste management and drainage represents a core CPHEEO function.

Technical Support for Urban Missions: CPHEEO provides technical support to important flagship government programs like AMRUT and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) via standard operating/practice model development, project appraisals and provide on-demand consultancy and technical guidance to facilitate the effective delivery of these schemes.

Research and Development: The organization is actively researching innovative solutions and technologies addressing urban public health challenges in India. This can include partnerships with universities, research institutes and international organizations to pilot new approaches to urban water and sanitation projects and integrate sustainable and affordable practices.

Monitoring and Evaluation: CPHEEO supports the monitoring and evaluation of urban infrastructure projects by providing technical guidance and performance indicators. The arms of CPHEEO engage to support the collection, analysis and reporting of data in order to address gaps in needs or challenges to findings to improve project management and accountability.

Performance

In the past 2-3 years, CPHEEO has emerged as a cornerstone in strengthening India’s urban public health landscape, particularly through its crucial support to flagship missions like AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (2023), CPHEEO’s technical expertise has directly benefited over 500 urban local bodies, providing them with essential training and advisory support that has enhanced the planning and execution of urban infrastructure projects.

A significant achievement lies in the integration of CPHEEO’s manuals and standards, which now feature in approximately 70% of AMRUT project plans nationwide. This adoption underscores the organization’s vital role in shaping high-quality, sustainable urban water supply, sewerage, and sanitation systems. The guidelines have empowered municipalities to design projects that are not only technically sound but also aligned with environmental and public health goals.

Budget allocations reflect growing governmental commitment: between 2022 and 2024, there has been a 20% increase in training sessions and workshops led by CPHEEO. These capacity-building initiatives have trained more than 3,000 municipal engineers and officials, equipping them with the latest technical knowledge and skills to tackle complex urban health challenges. This expanding outreach signals CPHEEO’s rising influence in creating a technically proficient urban governance ecosystem.

However, challenges persist. While CPHEEO’s technical guidance is robust, implementation gaps remain, especially in smaller towns and peri-urban areas where technical resources and expertise are scarce. These regions often struggle to fully translate CPHEEO’s recommendations into on-ground improvements, highlighting the need for more tailored support and monitoring mechanisms.

Highlights

Over 500 urban local bodies supported technical assistance in 3 years.
CPHEEO standards were incorporated in 70% of AMRUT projects.
The engagement of training workshops increased by 20% in 2022-2024.
Nationally, there were > 3,000 municipal officials trained.
The issue of capacity to deliver remains in smaller towns.

Mega Projects

1. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Launched in 2015, AMRUT is a flagship urban mission of the government of India aimed at improving the quality of life in cities, thereby enhancing urban infrastructure and public amenities related to urban water supply, sewerage, stormwater drains, and urban green space provided to the citizens. No city can be an attractive destination for residents and businesses to thrive without universal water supply and sewerage facilities or significant improvements in standards of urban living.

CPHEEO has provided technical excellence, oversight, and a standard framework to support project planning, design, and implementation. CPHEEO provides manuals that show, and also ensure that projects comply with the best professional engineering practices as well as sustainable principles. AMRUT, as of 2023, has supported integrated water and sanitation infrastructure development work in more than 500 towns and cities with billions of rupees invested on water supply and sanitation projects that would benefit millions of urban residents with reliable water supply and sanitation. CPHEEO had provided significant technical contributions to the AMRUT trust and mission, and has central to AMRUT’s mission success.

2. Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)

In 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) (SBM-U) was launched as a national campaign to end open defecation and to improve solid waste management in urban areas. SBM-U is one of the world’s largest cleanliness campaigns, with the aim to achieve our vision of ‘Clean Cities, Clean India.’ CPHEEO’s contributions to setting standards for urban sanitation infrastructure, household and community toilets, septage management, and waste treatment facilities have been critical to the success of this mission.

CPHEEO’s manuals have helped the municipal bodies develop the engineering features of urban sanitation, and the organization has written about various aspects dealing with sewers, sewage treatment plants, treatment technologies of waste, and other solid waste management engineering features. As of 2024, SBM-U has led to creation of more than 120 million toilets in urban areas. Further, the mission has significantly improved urban municipal solid waste management, while CPHEEO has been involved through its capacity building role and technical oversight to help guarantee sustainable and positive outcomes.

3. National Urban Drinking Water Programme (NUDWP)

The objective of the National Urban Drinking Water Programme is to make sure that everybody in urban areas has access to safe, sustainable drinking water; more so, that any water quality risks are prevented for urban populations, particularly small and census towns where there is inadequate infrastructure. CPHEEO assists the NUDWP initiative through its role as the central agency in developing guidelines and standards for the design of water supply systems including treatment plants, distribution systems and protocols for monitoring water quality and quantity.

It also assists in developing drinking water pipelines, source-recharge, effluents disposal etc., with sustainability in mind via the promotion of modern day infrastructure, technologies for treatment, techniques for groundwater recharge, etc. In following this, CPHEEO also provides a degree of technical support and capacity building for municipal bodies to provide assured access to potable water and limiting any risks to public health and safety. There is recognition by CPHEEO that NUDWP is aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and has measurable impacts on the safety of drinking water and its availability.

4. Smart Cities Mission

The Smart Cities Mission is a new initiative that began in 2015 with the intention of establishing 100 Smart Cities in the country of India with the integration of urban development that is driven by innovation and technology. CPHEEO is part of this mission and has supported the mission by guiding the infrastructural development of water supply and sanitation in cities by providing them with options for water supply and sanitation smart technologies such as real-time water quality monitoring, automation of water metering, and enhanced sewage treatment systems.

CPHEEO is encouraged to provide technical inputs and guidance to promote the development of smart infrastructure that is technically practicable and environmentally sustainable, with the objective of minimising water losses and maximizing the effectiveness of sewage treatment. Their combined expertise in engineering with digital solutions has improved service delivery in cities that participated in the mission and it has further contributed to making urban utilities much more effective in response to citizen demands.

5. National River Conservation Plan (NRCP)

The National River Conservation Plan is national initiative aimed at reducing pollution and restoring the ecological health of India’s urban rivers, which greatly impact public health and urban context. CPHEEO provides technical assistance in municipalities design and implementation of sewage treatment plants, storm water management systems, and pollution control infrastructure to sustain river conservation.

CPHEEO a supports ontological solutions in sewage interceptions, treatment, and reuse so to provide urban local bodies compliance with environmental regulation and conditions to influence improvement of water quality in river basins. Some of the NRCP’s work have help benefits in improvement of cleaner urban rivers, in cities such Ottawa, Varanasi and Kanpur impacts the lives of millions not only in risk for sanitary and safe drinking but improving our urban ecological systems.

Impact of CPHEEO

Urban Infrastructure Improvement :All the CPHEEO guidelines have also helped in improving design and implementation of water supply and sanitation projects to comply within which does ensure equitable, safer, more reliable urban infrastructure.
Public Health Petitioner Benefits:The CPHEEO standards and guidelines have been applied, leading to both improved water quality and sewage management, which can result in better management and lower incidence of water and sewage contaminants and consequent impacts through lower incidence of waterborne diseases.
Contribution to Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban): Through CPHEEO, the technical guidance support offered has assisted Schabh Bharat Mission (Urban) objectives to successfully improve access to household toilets and improved household solid waste management practices in most cities.
Capacity Development: Capacity for urban local bodies in technical areas served was supported by CPHEEO’s training and guidance manuals in producing decision making/evidence-based assessment plans and subsequently the procurement and project management processes.

Emerging Issues

Differences in implementation capacity across urban local bodies hinders uniform usage of CPHEEO guidelines.
Financial sustainability of water and sanitation infrastructure is still a concern.
There is a need to update standards to accommodate climate resilience and sustainable practices.
There are gaps in coordination among CPHEEO, local governments, and others.
There is a need for improved monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure compliance with technical norms.

Recommendation

Ways to Improve the Effectiveness of CPHEEO

Make Decentralized Capacity-Building More Effective Using Real-Time & Customized Training Modules:
Considering the various geographical and socio-economic contexts in which municipalities operate all across India, CPHEEO should have regionally specific and context-sensitive capacity-building training tailored to specific circumstances like water scarcity in arid regions or flood management in coastal regions. Decentralized capacity-building will contribute important knowledge and understanding of technical subject matters that are immediately accessible to implementers for improved potential implementation with higher sustainability. Specifically, there is evidence to suggest that stakeholder involvement and overall success of projects is dramatically increased when stakeholders who manage implementation are subjected to regionally specific training (World Bank, 2022).
Improve Funding for Operation and Maintenance (O&M):
Evidence indicates that insufficient O&M funding often undercuts the effectiveness of a multitude of urban infrastructure project initiatives (CSE, 2023). CPHEEO should advocate for increased budgetary allocations and the provision of affixed funding for O&M of water supply and sanitation systems, especially in smaller municipalities where funding envelope issues are most prevalent. Continued funding also increases the longevity of important infrastructure, minimizes service interruptions and protects the health impacts.
Integrate Climate Adaptation Frameworks into CPHEEO Guidelines: The effect of climate change has already started to hurt cities, and there is increasing threat from adverse climate change impacts, including urban flooding, unsustainable and depleting or slow recovering groundwater aquifers, and abnormal weather events. Given the pressurizing forces of climate change, CPHEEO needs to start integrating principles of climate resilient approaches in its manuals, guidelines and policies. Elements such as nature-based solutions, water-sensitive urban design, and adapted disaster risk reduction measures should be incorporated into these documents. This will facilitate how urban local bodies can better adapt to changing environmental realities following the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NITI Aayog, 2024).

Encourage Improved Inter-Agency Coordination, and Community Involvement: Proper delivery of urban infrastructure requires coordinated efforts amongst actors from various government agencies – municipal authorities, municipal water boards, municipal health departments, and civil society organizations etc. CPHEEO should facilitate processes for inter-agency dialogue, joint planning, and information sharing which would break down bureaucratic silos, and help shape an integrated service delivery framework. Evidence shows that multi-stakeholder approaches to planning and implementation are favourable as they enhance resource disclosure and transparency, improve resource efficiencies, and create community goodwill (UN-Habitat, 2023).

Build Stronger systems for data management and monitoring:-
Using systems for continuous/real-time monitoring and robust data collection will help the CPHEEO and urban local bodies track project status, report on project performance, monitor for new issues rapidly, and better utilize urban space. Geospatial Data, including the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and mobile service reporting and monitoring also helps improve accuracy and decision-making. Studies indicate that accountable data-driven approaches to urban infrastructure management use in providing flexibility, responsiveness, and better accountability (MoHUA, 2023).

Way Forward

CPHEEO’s strategic role in shaping the urban public health system in India complements the ambition of India’s sustainable urban development via AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission. For CPHEEO to fully achieve its impact it must evolve by embracing technology as well as engaging inclusive governance and improving the relationship with state and local stakeholders. Its action in the technical advisor’s role while simultaneously working with ground realities will improve urban livelihoods and support the larger vision of a New India with healthy cities with resilience.

References

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. (2023). Annual Report.
CPHEEO Official Website: https://mohua.gov.in/cpheeo
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) Progress Reports.
Economic Survey, Government of India (2022-2024).
Reports from Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development.
CAG Report on Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (2023).
Singh, R., & Kumar, P. (2021). Urban Water Management in India: Challenges and Strategies. Journal of Urban Affairs, 43(5), 690-707. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2021.1917609

About the Contributor: Fatima Firdaus is a Research Intern at IMPRI, currently pursuing MA in Human Rights at Aligarh Muslim University.

Acknowledgement: The author would like to sincerely thank Sreeja Mukherjee, Shivchaitanya Mahajan, and Sayantani Ghosh for their valuable review and insights that greatly enhanced the quality of this work. I am also grateful to Aasthaba Jadeja for her kind guidance and support throughout the development of this article.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.