World Bank sanctions loan for minor irrigation project in Bengal

Kolkata: World Bank has recently sanctioned a loan to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore for further scaling up of the West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP) in Bengal.

The successful implementation of the first phase of the WBADMIP has guaranteed the receipt of the loan for the second phase which will be spanning for six years. The loan agreement will be signed after the Panchayat polls.

“We will be developing minor irrigation infrastructure for strengthening agricultural activities and taking up more creek excavation with the funds available from the World Bank in the second phase of the project which will be taken up through this World Bank Loan. The monocrop areas, the coastal saline belt and hilly areas where water supply for agriculture is a big challenge will be covered through this project,“ a senior official of state Water Resources Investigation & Development (WRI &D) department that executes WBADMIP project said.

The project will also deal with water management for agriculture, horticulture and pisciculture for increasing production, particularly for small and marginal farmers.

The WRI & D department after completion of minor irrigation infrastructure in the form of check dams, tubewells etc hands over the command area to be served under such infrastructure to the farmers organising them through WUA.

The official added that more Water User Associations (WUA) will be formed and united into clusters so that FPOs(Farmer Producers Organisations) are constituted.

In the first phase of the project which spanned from 2012-2019; about 3,000 minor irrigation schemes were taken up for the Paschimanchal districts, the coastal saline belt of North & South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore and the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The loan received from World Bank was above Rs 1,100 crore.

The major work done in the first phase includes the excavation of 650km of creeks in the Sunderban region that has allowed an influx of fresh water, leading to the replacement of toxic ‘vannamei shrimp’ cultivation with freshwater prawns.

This transformation has resulted in the rejuvenation of the Sunderbans promoting biodiversity and sustaining livelihoods.