World Bank has approved 250 million US dollars loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).
The project will be funded by loan credit from International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank’s concessionary with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period.
About Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project
- The recovery project will play important role in reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure. It includes roads, bridges and public infrastructure.
- It will also strengthen the capacity of state government to respond and better manage natural disasters in future.
- It will focus on 20 districts of state and help to rebuild damaged public buildings such as schools, hospitals, higher education buildings, fire stations, selected block and district offices.
- It also seeks to strengthen and reinforce existing weak and vulnerable flood control infrastructure. The investments will primarily include rehabilitation and renovation of storm water pumping stations in several areas.
- The project will also focus on disaster risk mitigation in state and strengthen the capacity of government entities in disaster risk management.
- It will also help in preparation of a Hydro-Meteorological Resilience Action Plan to enhance preparedness and achieve resilient recovery.
- The action plan will focus on river morphology study for some key rivers impacted by the disaster, extreme weather events and urban vulnerability assessment.
Background
- In September 2014, continuous unprecedented heavy heavy rainfall had caused Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers, their tributaries to flow above the danger mark.
- It had flooded the catchment areas, particularly low lying ones for more than two weeks in the state which had severely affected livelihoods and basic infrastructure in the state.