The non-convertible green municipal bonds of Indore Municipal Corporation were oversubscribed by 5.90 times after raising about Rs 720 crore till the last date for application for the bonds. The issue opened on February 10 and closed on February 14.
Indore is India’s first urban body to introduce green bonds, seeking to raise Rs 244 crore to install and operate the plant of 60 megawatts in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district. It is expected to be the largest solar plant meant for pumping and supplying water from river Narmada. In response, the Indore Municipal Corporation raised Rs 661.52 crore on the first day itself. “The investors and commoners have overwhelmingly responded to the green bonds,” tweeted Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Green bonds are debt securities issued by a public or private organisation to finance or refinance projects that have a positive impact on the environment. Uttar Pradesh’s civic body Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam had issued India’s first green municipal bond for setting up of a tertiary water treatment plant.
The Indore civic body was expecting 10 to 15 times oversubscription of its bonds against the 1.26 times witnessed in 2018 when the city became the first city in India to list municipal bonds on the National Stock Exchange’s debt securities platform.
