June 24, 2019
The Government of India, the State Government of Jharkhand and the World Bank on June 24 signed a US$147 million loan agreement to provide basic urban services in the state
Jharkhan will invest in urban services such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, and urban roads; and strengthen the capacity of the Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Co
This will help cater to the needs of a rapidly urbanizing state where over 31 million people live in urban areas, and urban population growth in many districts is above national average
Over 350,000 urban residents of participating ULBs are expected to benefit, of which 45% will be women; The loan will be from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The Government of India, the State Government of Jharkhand and the World Bank on June 24 signed a US$147 million loan agreement to provide basic urban services in the state. The deal will help improve the management capacity of the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state. With the funding, the Jharkhand Municipal Development Project will focus on improving the municipal sector’s capacity to provide basic urban services. It will invest in urban services such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, and urban roads; and strengthen the capacity of the Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (JUIDCO) as well as that of the ULBs to carry out reforms in the areas of urban finance and governance.
This will help cater to the needs of a rapidly urbanizing state where about 31 million people live in urban areas, and urban population growth in nine of the state’s 24 districts is above India’s overall urbanization pace of 2.7 percent. Government of India has recognized that urbanization and economic growth are interlinked and initiated a comprehensive road map for municipal reforms through the AMRUT program. In line with this, the Jharkhand Municipal Reform Programme will help in boosting municipal services in a fast urbanizing state and will provide an impetus to economic growth. Over 350,000 urban residents of the participating ULBs are expected to benefit, of which at least 45 percent will be women.
The components of the project will be available to all 43 ULBs in the state. Interventions such as piped water supply, storm water drains, climate friendly road construction and energy efficient street lighting will not only help improve urban services but also make it environmentally sustainable. Out of these, work on two sub-projects – Khunti water supply subproject and the Dhanbad roads subproject – is expected to commence shortly. Through its other key components, the project will strengthen urban governance by assisting ULBs to improve their organizational capacity, management of finances in a sustainable manner, and focus on the development of its nodal implementing agency, JUIDCO.
Jharkhand, which ranked fourth in the rankings of Indian states in Ease of Doing Business last year, needs large-scale investments in urban infrastructure and services. The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a seven-year grace period, and a maturity of 22.5 years.