Kerala expects Rs 3,596 cr World Bank loan for rebuilding

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, after a high level meeting here on Monday to discuss the 'rebuild Kerala' initiative in aftermath of the worst-ever floods that hit the state last year, indicated that the World Bank will provide a Rs 3,596 crore loan for rebuilding activities covering various sectors.

He said that the World Bank has, in principle, agreed to this sum, provided that state government also chips in 30 per cent which would work out to be around Rs 1,541 crore.

"From what we have gathered is that the World Bank sanction of the loan is expected to come in June, when this would be taken up in their meeting then. In the present fiscal, an amount of Rs 1541 crores would be utilized for rebuilding activities," Vijayan added.

The disaster, which began with rains at the end of May last year and continued in three stages till the middle of August, had claimed 483 lives and at the height of the deluge, there were 14.5 lakh people in over 3,000 relief camps.

Various agencies had assessed the total damages to life and property in the deluge were in excess of Rs 30,000 crore.

--IANS

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