📋 Tender Overview
Project Name
Maharashtra Green Roads Connectivity for Inclusive Growth Program
Project Number
52298-003
Country / Economy
India
Project Status
Proposed
Project Type / Modality of Assistance
Loan
Source of Funding / Amount
Loan: Maharashtra Climate Smart Connectivity for Inclusive Growth Results Based Lending Program
Ordinary capital resources US$ 400.00 million
Sector / Subsector
Transport / Road transport (non-urban)
Gender
Effective gender mainstreaming
Description
The $400 million results-based lending (RBL) program for Maharashtra's non-urban road transport subsector aims to promote rural development through improved connectivity by enhancing rural roads, major district roads, and state highways across rural areas of the state. The RBL program will deliver efficient, resilient, and safe conditions on priority roads (i) in districts with lagging multidimensional poverty and climate and disaster-risk vulnerability; (ii) for rural communities without all-weather farm-to-market connectivity and all-weather access to socioeconomic centers; (iii) to enhance interstate and interstate connectivity to multimodal logistics hubs, national investment and manufacturing zones, dry ports and industrial precincts. The program significantly contributes to the state's development plans and will promote rural development, inclusive economic development, improved accessibility to health care and education, and gender equality.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
Maharashtra is categorized as India's leading state based on real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and GDP growth rate over the medium-term. However economic development is concentrated around the state's major urban centers including Mumbai. Despite the state's impressive economic growth, inequality is one of the highest among all states in India. In rural Maharashtra, which has a population of approximately 65 million, 11.5% of the population remains multidimensionally poor and in some districts the figure is as high as 33%. Agriculture plays an important role in the state's economy and supports rural livelihoods, accounting for over 50% of employment and as much as 68% of the rural labor force.
Maharashtra's sectoral share of agriculture and allied activities in terms of gross value added was exhibiting negative annual growth rates prior to the coronavirus pandemic. After a post-pandemic boost, the agriculture sector's annual growth rate of gross value added dropped to 2.9%, and in FY2023 was falling below that of India--the national growth rate for agriculture was 6.3% annually. The agriculture sector continues to be vulnerable to the challenges posed by climate vulnerability and degradation of productive land. Erratic weather patterns, reductions in the size of operational holdings, high input costs and market uncertainties leading to non-profitability continue to be the prime concerns. Crop losses are a consistent problem, resulting in high far
