The Central Government of India has joined hands with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to sign a $200 million loan agreement to support the ongoing Rajasthan Secondary Towns Development Sector Project. The additional funding aims to enhance water supply, sanitation, and urban resilience while preserving heritage in specific towns.
The project will focus on bridging infrastructure gaps in secondary towns and improving water supply and sanitation services. It will introduce innovative and climate-resilient solutions, including nature-based approaches to restore heritage structures. Public-private partnerships will also be tested in the water and sanitation sector to increase private sector involvement.
The supplementary financing will lead to significant improvements in water supply systems, including converting groundwater sources to surface water, replacing leaking water pipes, and installing new water supply pipelines. Additionally, thousands of households will benefit from water meter connections.
Several towns will witness improvements in their sanitation systems through the restoration of sewers, construction of sewage treatment plants with co-treatment units, and connecting households to the sewage network.
The Rajasthan Secondary Towns Development Sector Project, launched in 2020 with an initial capital of $300 million, aims to improve water supply services for around 570,000 people and sanitation services for approximately 720,000 people across 14 secondary towns.
The President of the Asian Development Bank, Masatsugu Asakawa, has expressed his support for the project.
