Following the million dollar loan sanctioned by World Bank last month to rebuild the state which had been affected by the deluge in 2018, Kerala is set to receive a loan of $250 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
As per reports, Kerala will get a total aid of Rs 9,700 crore in loans received from the World Bank, ADB and a German agency KFW.
Total loss incurred by Kerala post floods has been estimated to be around Rs 39,000 crore.
The discussions with ADB are in final stages and the aid will be used to expand drinking water supply in the state, reports The Hindu. According to reports, round the clock water supply will be ensured through this aid in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The Department of Water Resources will also be allotted funds from this for repair and maintenance work of dams, canals, regulator and irrigation structures that have been damaged in the flood.
Asian Development Bank Country Director had attended a meeting in Kovalam at the Development Partners Conclave. The event was to raise money for Rebuild Kerala Development Programme (RKDP) from various sources.
The Department of Public Works, Forest, Water Resources, Irrigation and Agriculture will mainly utilise the amount as part of Rebuild Kerala, says Times of India report. The report says that the Public Works Department, which mainly focuses on the rebuilding of roads and bridges devastated in the flood in a resilient manner, will be allotted about Rs 3,650 crore.The department has also made a list of roads which need urgent reconstruction, most of which includes the most flood-hit districts like Pathanamthitta, Wayanad, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Thrissur.
Part of the funds will be used by the Forest Department to restore damages caused by the flood and it will also include completing the work of wildlife corridor.