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Cabinet gives nod to WB aid

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 8/20/2015 12:53:27 PM

SRINAGAR, Aug 19: The Cabinet which met here today under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed approved the proposal of the Relief & Rehabilitation Department for availing World Bank assistance of USD 250 Million (Rs 1500 cr approx) for the Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) and for signing of the Subsidiary Agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India for it.
It may be recalled that in the aftermath of September 2014 floods, the Government of J&K separately sought a credit line facility from World Bank under the External Aided Projects (EAP’s) through Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), GoI on soft loan basis.
The project comprises various components including:
(1) Reconstruction and strengthening of critical infrastructure (US$60m);
(2) Reconstruction of roads and bridges (US$80m);
(3) Restoration of urban flood management infrastructure (US$50 m);
(4) Restoration and strengthening of livelihoods (US$15m);
(5) Strengthening disaster risk management capacity (US$25m);
(6) Implementation Support (US$20m).
As per the Project Document, a Project Steering Committee (SC) will be set up for the overall strategy guidance and monitoring of the project. It will be headed by the Chief Secretary and will comprise all involved line departments, and additionally, the departments of Finance, Planning, Environment, and Social Welfare. The SC will formally approve the project investments and help coordinate the activities of various departments, including in obtaining required approvals/clearances for the Project.
A Project Management Unit (PMU), housed within the Relief & Rehabilitation Department, will be responsible for overall project management, coordination, and reporting, and for implementation of Component 5. The PMU will also be responsible to carry out procurement of goods, services, and small scale works for other components, with technical inputs from the relevant line departments.
There will be 3 Project Implementation Units (PIUs) that will be set up at the beginning of the Project. During project implementation, additional PIUs might be set-up depending on the volume of investments and capacity. The 3 PIUs viz Roads and Building Department (R&B), will be responsible for all civil works under Components 1, and 2, and it will receive technical inputs from the Departments of Health, Higher Education, Fire, and others as relevant depending on the civil works; Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be responsible for implementation of Component 3 and it will be assisted by the Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED) for technical inputs and procurement of goods, works, and services in line with its official responsibilities and capacity and Industry and Commerce Department (I&CD) will be responsible for implementation of Component 4 with support from other agencies.
The PMU and the PIUs will be staffed with the best manpower available within and outside the Government, from Engineering, Environment and Remote Sensing and Social Sectors.