DIMAPUR:
The Centre and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a pact under which ADB will provide a $2 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan to Nagaland for urban infrastructure development in the state.
It was informed that the loan will be utilised for designing climate-resilient urban infrastructure, strengthening institutional capacity and improving municipal resource mobilisation in 16 district headquarter towns in Nagaland.
Additional secretary, economic affairs department in the finance ministry, Rajat Kumar Mishra signed the PRF for the proposed Nagaland Urban Infrastructure Development Project for the Government of India while country director of ADB’s India Resident Mission Takeo Konishi signed it on behalf of the ADB.
“The ADB financing will ensure high readiness of the ensuing project through preparing an urban sector strategy, undertaking feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs of selected subprojects and building capacity of state-level agencies in project implementation, resource mobilisation and anchoring reforms”, Konishi said.
The PRF will also help design water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and urban roads in 16 district headquarter towns with climate-resilient features and improved access to the poor and vulnerable. Capacity building of state agencies will help augment own-resource mobilisation by urban local bodies, improve their readiness for implementing the ensuing project and initiate sector and institutional reforms, the report said.
After signing the agreement, Mishra said the facility would support key preparatory activities for the ensuing project aimed at improving urban infrastructure and services in Nagaland to help the state realise its economic potential.
According to the report, Nagaland’s towns and cities face the long-term challenge of climate change, lack of basic amenities, and poor connectivity.
Stating that major transport routes around urban areas are severely affected by landslides during the monsoon season, it said urban roads are in poor condition without proper stormwater drainage. Most cities face acute water shortage, except Dimapur, have inadequate sewerage or septage management system and all these issues constrain economic development of the state, it added.