World Bank to loan $250mn for Jhelum, Tawi Flood Recovery plan

The World Bank will help the government fund the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project and will tender a loan worth USD 250 million for it.
"The (central) government and the World Bank today signed a USD 250 million credit agreement under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction and recovery support in flood-affected areas in which public infrastructure and livelihoods were impacted severely," World Bank said in a statement today.
The Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project will focus on 20 flood-affected districts -- Anantnag, Baramula, Budgam, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Srinagar, Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Poonch, Rajauri and Udhampur.

The credit agreement for the project was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director, India.
The continuous spell of rains in September last year caused Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers, including their tributaries and many other streams, to flow above the danger mark.
Due to the unprecedented heavy rainfall, the catchment areas, particularly the low-lying ones, were flooded for more than two weeks.

The Jhelum breached its banks at several places and over a million families were affected, directly or indirectly, and some 300 lives were lost.
More than 648,000 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land were affected, causing huge loss to crops, plantations and animals.

"The project will focus on restoring critical infrastructure disrupted by the floods using international best practice. The infrastructure will be designed to improve resilience to future flooding and landslide as well as seismic risk," said Kumar.
It will also strengthen the capacity of the state government to respond to and better manage natural disasters in future, the World Bank said.
"This region is highly vulnerable to natural disasters that can push millions into poverty. In addition to reconstruction, which includes reconstruction of roads, bridges and public infrastructure, the project will also help the region be better prepared for future," said Ruhl.

He stressed that the challenge is to build smart so that the fragile eco-system is not undermined.
It will incorporate lessons from previous national and global post-disaster recovery projects to ensure recovery is targeted, effective and more resilient to future disasters, he added.
Besides, the project will also strengthen and reinforce existing weak and vulnerable flood control infrastructure. Investments will primarily include rehabilitation and renovation of storm water pumping stations in several areas.
Apart from reconstruction, the project will focus on disaster risk mitigation.