As part of 'Water for Asian Cities' programme of UN-HABITAT (UN Human Settlements Programme), several cities in India (State of Madhya Pradesh) are to benefit from an ADB (Asian Development Bank) loan of $200 million, which will go towards improving the water and sanitation sector in these cities.

Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Ratlam and Ujjain are among the first Indian cities to work in co-operation with UN-HABITAT, the ADV and the State Government of Madhya Pradesh to ensure that investments in the water and sanitation sector reach the urban poor in these cities. The idea of the UN-HABITAT initiative is that the project be implemented under a pro-poor urban governance structure to achieve the MDG (Millennium Development Goad) on water. The ADB investment is part of a $500 million commitment it made last year to support the urban water and sanitation sector in Asia through UN-HABITAT's 'Water for Asian Cities' programme.

A stakeholder's consultation, which concluded in early August 2004 in India, recommended that the programme focus on the following priority areas; pro-poor water governance; water demand management and rainwater conservation; integrated urban environmental sanitation; water education and public awareness; partnerships among multi-stakeholders, including donors; and improvement of sector performance through integration of innovation and human values.

For further information; www.unhabitat.org/adb_loan.asp