ADB Loan to Help boost Waste Management and Sanitation in India

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (13 December 2023) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan to boost solid waste management and sanitation in Indian cities.

ADB’s financing will uphold the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission–Urban 2.0 which commits all cities to be garbage free by 2026. The Swachh Bharat Mission2.0–Comprehensive Municipal Waste Management in Indian Cities Program will present international best practices, new technologies, and mainstream climate- and disaster-resilient approaches in municipal solid waste management. It will fortify women’s participation in sanitation and service delivery and harness private sector participation.

“Municipal waste management is a major issue in India’s rapidly growing urban centers. This ADB program will help evolve municipal solid waste management and sanitation facilities and practices in 100 cities across eight states,” said ADB Urban Development Specialist Alexandra Conroy. “Having a clean environment free from garbage and pollution coupled with quality urban basic services appreciate water supply and sanitation will ensure that citizens are healthy, happy, and productive—essential to the country’s sustainable economic growth.”

ADB’s uphold will upgrade and set up waste management facilities such as bio-methanation plants, composting plants, managed landfills, material recovery facilities, and plastic waste processing facilities. It will also uphold the construction of communal toilets and urinals and the purchase of sweeping equipment. These facilities and delivery of urban services will include climate- and disaster-resilient, gender equality and social inclusion-responsive features.

The program will build urban local bodies’ capacity on waste management and sanitation, encourage peer-to-peer learning, and proactively engage with the private sector. It will help conduct annual reviews and progress updates of citywide solid waste and sanitation action plans. Training and awareness campaigns for sanitation workers and communities will be conducted to boost waste segregation and waste collection.

ADB will furnish an additional $3.15 million technical assistance (TA) grant from its Urban Resilience Trust Fund, Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund, and the Sanitation Financing Partnership Trust Fund. The TA grant will uphold program implementation, capacity building of selected states on financial management and monitoring and evaluation and ease twinning or city-to-city partnerships.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.