India, ADB ink $125 million loan pact to upgrade urban services in Assam

The Union government on Monday signed a $125 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enhance urban livability and strengthen climate resilience in six district headquarters and Guwahati in Assam.

The Assam Urban Sector Development Project will benefit around 3.6 lakh residents by providing continuous metered water supply and improving stormwater management systems, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The agreement was signed by Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Mio Oka, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission.

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

A real-time monitoring system will also be deployed to keep non-revenue water below 20%.

In Guwahati, stormwater management will be strengthened in the Bahini Basin through flood diversion channels, upgraded drainage systems and a nature-based retention pond to reduce flood discharge and improve groundwater recharge.

The project will also establish the Assam State Institute for Urban Development in collaboration with IIT Guwahati and introduce a GIS-based property tax database, digital water billing systems and a volumetric water tariff structure across project towns to improve financial sustainability and service delivery.

With a strong focus on social inclusion, the initiative will train women self-help groups in water operations, offer internships for college-age women and conduct school outreach programmes to raise awareness of water, sanitation and hygiene.