The World Bank is willing to give $500-million financial assistance to the State government for its comprehensive flood recovery efforts and build resilience to such calamities in the future.
The support is subject to the Union government’s formal request and will have to be approved by the World Bank Board of Governors. As an immediate step, the bank is ready to reallocate up to $55 million from within its current portfolio of projects in India to support the State’s reconstruction investments.
The World Bank (WB) has offered technical and financial assistance for the flood recovery efforts in the State and support to rebuild Kerala. The WB’s gesture was communicated to the State government on Tuesday while presenting the Joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (JRDNA) report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Ministers.
Under the proposed recovery and resilience framework, the World Bank will help the State finance and build resilient institutions, systems, and infrastructure to help achieve the vision to rebuild better.
Priority sectors
A Joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment in September by officials of the State government, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had estimated the recovery needs at ₹25,000 crore or $3.56 billion for the priority sectors alone. The sectors that suffered the worst damage and need financial support are transport, rural infrastructure, livelihoods, including tourism, housing and urban infrastructure.
A phased approach is to be adopted for the framework. The first phase will address early recovery needs and setting the stage for a resilient recovery by helping to raise funds from domestic and international sources. The second phase aims to improve the overall resilience of the State to future shocks over the medium-to-long term — primarily through policy and institution strengthening.
