$485 mn WB aid for Tamil Nadu's irrigation sector

The World Bank has announced $485 million in assistance to Tamil Nadu to modernise the state's irrigation infrastructure.

Of the total loan corpus, $335 million will be routed through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) while $150 million in credit will be provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary lending arm.

The Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water-Bodies Restoration and Management Project has been designed to modernise irrigation systems spread across 600,000 hectares in 63 select sub-basins of the state, said a World Bank release.

The scheme seeks to synergise the work of agencies involved in irrigation with multiple activities like on-farm development, horticulture, agriculture, marketing, livestock, fisheries and applied research.

The project will aim to improve productivity of water in irrigated agriculture and promote diversification into higher-value, less-intensive crops. Special focus will be placed on modernisation of tanks, supported by a Centre's initiative. The Water Resources Organisation and Water Users Organisation will be strengthened to improve irrigation service delivery. "It is time for irrigated agriculture and water resources management to catch up with other modernisation efforts in the state and this project will assist in this process in an innovative manner," Srinivasan Raj Rajagopal, World Bank Lead Water Resources Specialist and project leader, said.

Additionally, the project will aim to strengthen the institutional framework and tools for sustainable water resources management.

Work will also be initiated on management of the Cooum sub-basin near Chennai that demonstrates unique urban-rural linkages and resource and water quality challenges.

The project is expected to create about 50,000 rural farm jobs.

According to World Bank figures, Tamil Nadu is home to about 62 million people living in 17 river basins. The majority of the population in these areas are rural and dependent on agriculture.

With increasing stress on supplies which are often polluted, and competing demands for resources, the agricultural sector in the state is facing major constraints.

These include poor irrigation infrastructure, water scarcity, groundwater overdraft and pollution of surface and ground water.