New Delhi: India on Monday signed a $400 million policy-based loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to create quality urban infrastructure, improve service delivery and promote effective governance systems, according to a statement from the Finance Ministry. .
The program also envisages integrated planning reforms to control urban sprawl and foster systemic and planned urbanization by improving the entire ecosystem of legal, regulatory and institutional reforms.
With subprogramme 1, approved in 2021 with funding of $350 million, policies and guidelines were established at the national level to improve urban services, while the latest subprogramme 2 supports investment planning and reform activities by the state and urban local body (ULB ). ) levels.
The loan agreement for sub-programme 2 was signed between Juhi Mukherjee, joint secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Takeo Konishi, country director of ADB’s India resident mission.
Mukherjee said the program supports the government’s urban sector strategy with a focus on reforms aimed at making cities viable and centers of economic growth by providing comprehensive, resilient and sustainable infrastructure.
“Sub-programme 2 supports the reforms initiated by the states and ULBs in the operation of the national flagship program of the Atal Mission for Urban Renewal and Reform (AMRUT) 2.0 aimed at universal access to water supply and sanitation,” said Konishi.
The subprogram also supports other mission objectives to ensure urban water security by reducing water losses, recycling treated sewage for non-household use, watershed renewal, and maintaining sustainable groundwater levels, the release said.
ULBs will promote modernization of building bylaws, land pooling, urban agglomeration, and comprehensive urban mobility planning through transit-oriented development to help cities become well-planned centers of economic growth. Such integrated planning processes will include climate and disaster resilience, promote nature-based solutions, improve the urban environment, and improve the financial sustainability of cities by generating additional income.
Cities will be incentivized to be credible through various reforms to improve their revenues such as property taxes and user charges, improve their efficiencies and rationalize their spending.
This will greatly help cities use innovative financing such as commercial loans, municipal bond issuance, sub-sovereign debt, and public-private partnerships to fill significant gaps in urban infrastructure investments, said a statement from the finance ministry.
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Updated: 13 November 2023, 05:25 PM IST
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