$250 million loan assistance for infra reconstruction to be spent by 2020
Following the agreement between India and World Bank to provide $250 million loan for flood recovery plan in Jammu and Kashmir, the state will be entitled for special funds till 2020 to prepare itself to deal with natural calamities.
As per the agreement, the bank will maintain a “contingent emergency response component”, under which funds will immediately be made available to the state to respond to the crisis situation, should they occur during the implementation of the reconstruction project funded by the organisation.
“Strengthening disaster risk management capacity and enhancing capabilities of the government agencies in managing disaster risks, besides improving preparedness to deal with emergency situations is one of the main components of the agreement,” said an official source from the Relief and Rehabilitation Department.
World Bank will help the state government in rebuilding public infrastructure damaged by the floods during September 2014 under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project.
The Central government will repay the loan while the state will get funds as grant. However, the loan does not cover the damage to private and commercial property.
Sources said the first component of the project would be extended to the state in March, allowing the government to reconstruct damaged infrastructure.
Climate change in the Himalayan region in the past two decades and continued threat of high intensity earthquakes hitting Jammu and Kashmir in future has worried the planners. The disaster management preparedness in the state is marred by several flaws.
“It is certainly a great help to J&K where weather related calamities are inflicting huge damage to infrastructure. It’s now up to the state government how it builds capacity and improve disaster management preparedness. J&K does not have a good track record in dealing with the international financial institutions,” said a official source.
A Planning Department official said they had been asked not to delay their reports so that funds were utilised within the stipulated time period set by the bank.
There are five components under which the bank will help the state —- reconstruction of damaged hospitals, schools, higher education buildings, fire stations and selected block and district offices; reconstruction of roads and bridges to restore and improve the connectivity disrupted due to the disaster; restoration of urban flood management infrastructure to strengthen and reinforce existing weak and vulnerable flood control infrastructure in Srinagar municipal area, besides assessing urban flood management interventions in other areas.
After the devastating floods in 2014, two high-level rapid need assessment teams of World Bank had worked out Rs 21,000 crore worth damages to infrastructure and decided to provide loan assistance to the state.
Chief Secretary BR Sharma, who was then Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Department, had negotiated with the high-level World Bank team on the specific needs of the state.
