$105 million World Bank loan for India

Wednesday, 25 August 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: The World Bank has approved a $105 million loan for India's plan to set up a data system for management of water resources in the country. To be implemented over a period of six years by the ministry of water resources, the project is expected to help India tackle the growing problem of diminishing availability of fresh water and its deteriorating quality. The loan to be disbursed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 20-year maturity with a five-year grace period and a 0.75 percent commitment fee. It is for the second phase of the Hydrological Information System, established under the India Hydrology-I Project under which nine states and six central agencies were covered, the World Bank said in a statement Wednesday. The second phase, supported by this loan, will expand the coverage to four more states - Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Pondicherry and Punjab and two central agencies - the Central Pollution Control Board and the Bhakra-Beas Management Board. "The project will create a robust hydrological data base, improving the access and use of hydrologic data by the public and private sectors, and civil society," said E. V. Jagannathan, senior water resources engineer with the World Bank. "These stresses have led to competing demands and disputes among users, including states. One of the key requirements for comprehensive water resources management is a sound hydrological data base," said the World Bank.
Source: IANS