Asian Development Bank will provide a technical assistance grant of $2 million to India for developing and improving its cities.
The grant would be provided for a $2.5 million project for providing consulting support to Rs 60,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
The remaining five lakh dollars would be contributed by the Indian Government in the form of counterpart staff and office facilities, ADB said in a statement.
The project would help ensure the effective management and disbursement of JNNURM funds by providing consulting support through a project cell within the JNNURM project directorate at the Ministry of Urban Development (MUD).
The project, to be carried out over the next three years, would help the Ministry of Urban Development, the executing agency, refine the guidelines and processes for project preparation, appraisal and evaluation.
Besides, it would also help city and state governments meet Ministry of Urban Development requirements for accessing JNNURM funds.
Systems and procedures to monitor the progress of projects and activities would also be established, it said.
"Poor urban development and management is not only undermining India's ability to deliver a decent quality of life to its citizens, it is also constraining potential local and national economic growth," ADB Urban Development Specialist Nayana Mawilmada said.
{{/usCountry}}"Poor urban development and management is not only undermining India's ability to deliver a decent quality of life to its citizens, it is also constraining potential local and national economic growth," ADB Urban Development Specialist Nayana Mawilmada said.
{{/usCountry}}The need for strong focus and accelerated investment in urban development was clear, he added.
Under JNNURM, Rs 60,000 crore is expected to be invested in developing infrastructure in 63 largest cities in India over the next seven years.
India has the world's second largest urban population with more than 285 million people living in cities, ADB said and added that given the current trends in population growth and migration, the country's urban population was estimated to reach 575 million by 2030.