India, ADB Loan: Assam Urban Services Upgrade

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday signed a USD 125-million loan agreement with an aim to enhance urban livability and bolster climate resilience in six districts of Assam.

The project will benefit 360,000 residents of Assam by delivering continuous metered water supply and upgrading storm water management systems, the finance ministry said in a statement.

It also seeks to strengthen urban governance through institutional reforms and capacity building, it said.

Key infrastructure investments include the construction of six water treatment plants with a combined capacity of 72 million litres per day and 800 km distribution pipelines in the district headquarters of Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, and Nalbari, it said.

The project will also deploy a real-time monitoring system, aiming to maintain non revenue water below 20 per cent, it said.

In Guwahati, the project will enhance storm water management in the Bahini Basin with flood diversion channels, upgraded drainage systems, and a nature-based retention pond to reduce flood discharge and improve groundwater recharge, it said.

The signatories to the loan agreement for the Assam Urban Sector Development Project were Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance for the Government of India, and Mio Oka, Country Director, India Resident Mission, for ADB.