THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Second Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (KRWSS) - Jalanidhi II - was set into motion on Wednesday here, with the signing of a World Bank credit of ` 761 crore for the state.The second phase of the Jalanidhi project will provide financial and technical assistance for setting up of rural water supply schemes in about 200 grama panchayats in eight select districts of the state, along with support to the building up of capacity of institutions at the state and village-levels to implement the programme.The agreement was signed by Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, V J Kurian, Principal Secretary, on behalf of the Government of Kerala, A K Singh, Executive Director, on behalf of the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency; and Hubert Nove-Josserand, Operations Advisor, on behalf of the World Bank, in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Industries-Urban Affairs Minister P K Kunhalikutty. The assistance is delivered through the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, and has a maturity period of 25 years, including a five year grace period. The project has institutional building, technical assistance and infrastructure Development as the three main components. The project will also provide targeted assistance to about 65,000 beneficiaries among the tribal population in 22 grama panchayats. Kerala has improved rural water supply coverage from 58.6 per cent in 2003 to a reported 67.7 per cent by 2010.
Comments
0 comment