The Coimbatore Corporation plans to generate funds to produce more sustainable ‘green’ infrastructure through Green Municipal Bonds under the Smart City Mission (SCM).
Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap said the civic body was mulling to adopt the method to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the sustainable fabric of the city. A team from the United States Department of Treasury was expected to visit the city in June to discuss projects under the Bonds.
Green Municipal Bonds is a method for financing environmental, water, or clean energy projects by raising money through proceeds or by bringing about revenue from within or through loans.
The move was inspired by the projects presented at a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Goa on May 22. At the meeting, the Chief Executive Officers of the SCM project of Coimbatore, Surat, Indore, Agra and Goa presented the projects to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State Koushal Kishore and Joint Secretary and Mission Director of SCM Kunal Kumar.
According to S. Baskar, General Manager of the Coimbatore Smart City Mission, Coimbatore was among the well-performing cities along with Indore and Surat.
The Corporation also explored ways to save capital for raising and maintaining infrastructure by pooling in government agencies or other local bodies, instead of partnering with private agencies, he said.
“The Surat Municipal Corporation claimed that 115 Million Litres per Day of recycled water from the Tertiary Treatment Plant there was being sold to local industries which generated a revenue of ₹140 crore,” Mr. Baskar said.
“Under Smart City Mission, we are also looking into self-sustainable revenue sources through such projects,” he added.
A roadmap for the next phase termed Smart City Mission 2.0 was also presented at the meeting. This was regarding upgrading the final outcomes of all the projects in the ongoing phase and the maintenance of the projects in the upcoming years, a source said.
The deadline for completing the projects under the Mission is June this year.
