ADB nods $300 mn additional loan for Maharashtra’s rural roads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional loan of $300 million for the ongoing Maharashtra Rural Connectivity Improvement Project, which is upgrading rural roads and joining remote areas with markets in Maharashtra. The ongoing project to develop and maintain the safety and condition of 2,100 km of Maharashtra's rural roads was approved in August 2019. The Multilateral funding agency said that the additional loan will enhance 1,100 rural roads and 230 bridges for 2,900 km of total length in 34 districts. ADB Senior Rural Development Specialist for South Asia Masahiro Nishimura told the media that the additional financing aims to help expedite Maharashtra's economic recovery from Covid-19 devastation by creating rural employment and transforming agriculture. The Maharashtra overnment plans to improve the average growth rate of agriculture and allied activities to more than 5% per year by 2030. The project will also provide last-mile connectivity to a large number of small villages, improving access to health and education amenities and hugely serving the poor and vulnerable population by improving agriculture productivity, it added. The bank said the state government, acting through Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association as the executing agency, has developed a gender action plan, which concentrates on the capacity development of women workers. In August 2019, the latest financing will rebuild and rehabilitate roads and bridges in Maharashtra destroyed by the devastating floods, it said. ADB further added that the plan includes climate and flood resilience measures, pilot test the use of environment-friendly materials on selected road segments, and utilise new technologies. Image Source Also read: Govt approves over Rs 600 cr to build roads and bridges in Uttarakhand