ADB, India sign $270 million loan to improve urban services in 64 Madhya Pradesh small cities

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India on Monday signed a $270 million loan to develop water supply and integrated stormwater and sewage management infrastructure and strengthen capacities of urban local bodies (ULBs) for improved service delivery in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

A statement from the Ministry of Finance read, "This is an additional financing to scale up the scope of the ongoing Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project, which was approved in 2017 with a $275 million loan. It will expand the outcome of the current project by covering additional 64 small cities benefiting 185,000 households consisting of about 1.3 million people."

The signatories to the loan agreement were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in India's Ministry of Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission who signed for ADB.

According to the press statement, after signing the loan agreement, Khare said the project will improve livability in selected cities with provision of universal access to basic water and station services for the residents. This is aligned to the vision of the Government of Madhya Pradesh to improve urban infrastructure services with universal coverage of piped water supply in all urban local bodies by 2025.

Konishi said that through this project, ADB will continue innovative approaches and good practices of the ongoing project including universal coverage with 100 per cent household metering, full operation and maintenance cost recovery, and reducing nonrevenue water. The provision of inclusive water and station services to the urban poor will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 or access to clean water and station for all.

The project will receive support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, specifically for the integration of Citywide Inclusive Station principles into the planning, design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of the station subprojects, the press statement read.

As in the previous loan, the project will support the continued institutional strengthening and capacity building of the Urban Development and Housing Department and Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company Limited. The project will pilot an integrated urban development approach to improve urban service delivery and infrastructure of two urban local bodies. ADB's technical support will provide a significant model that can be used to replicate and scale up the enhancement of urban livability in other localities.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members--49 from the region, the press statement added.

( With inputs from ANI )