Thiruvananthapuram: The World Bank has approved the first tranche of Rs 250 million (approximately Rs 1,700 crore) for the Resilient Kerala Programme (RKP) to tackle natural disasters and climate change. Kerala is the first Indian state to get the fund under the ‘state partnership’ initiative of the World Bank endorsed by India government, said Mr Junaid Ahmad, country director of World Bank, India, at a press conference here on Monday.
The partnership will identify key areas of policy and support the state with improved river basin planning and water infrastructure operations management, water supply and sanitation services. The World Bank would give $250 million to the state government for executing various programmes, including sustainable agriculture, improved resilience of the core road network, up-to-date land records in high-risk areas etc., he said.
The ‘state partnership’ focuses on programmatic support for the state which is a new approach of the World Bank.
It has earmarked a total of Rs 500 million for the RKP programme and the second tranche would be released later. The central and state governments and the World Bank had signed a loan agreement of Rs 250 million in June 2019.The Resilient Kerala Programme will focus on strengthening the state’s institutional and financial capacity to protect the assets and livelihood of people through an inclusive and participatory approach.
