Mumbai: The Nashik Municipal Corporation on Monday listed Maharashtra’s first public issue of Green Municipal Bonds by an urban local body on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), ANI reported.
The listing ceremony was attended by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra. During the event, NSE Managing Director Ashish Kumar Chauhan presented a replica of the NSE bell to the chief minister ahead of the bond listing.
In a message shared on social media, the NSE congratulated the Nashik civic body for launching the state’s first public issue of green municipal bonds by an urban local body.
Municipal green bonds are fixed-income debt instruments issued by local governing bodies such as municipal corporations to raise funds for projects that benefit the environment. The money raised through these bonds is used for urban infrastructure projects that support sustainability.
Officials said the funds can be used for initiatives such as renewable energy projects, waste management, clean transport systems, sustainable water management and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Like regular municipal bonds, these instruments represent loans from investors to local governments. However, all the funds raised through green bonds must be used only for environmentally focused projects.
Officials said the initiative is seen as a step towards supporting India’s broader climate goals, including its target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2047.
Earlier, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation became the first civic body in India to issue green municipal bonds in 2021, raising ₹150 crore to finance a tertiary sewage treatment plant. Later, Indore Municipal Corporation also issued green bonds in early 2023 to fund a 60-megawatt solar power project.
