World Bank inks $125m deal to support Resilient Kerala

TRIVANDRUM: The World Bank has signed a $125 million deal to support Kerala’s preparedness against natural disasters, climate change impacts, disease outbreaks, and pandemics.

The financial institution providing loans and grants to low and middle-income countries signed a tripartite agreement with the state and federal governments in New Delhi on Monday.

The Resilient Kerala programme will incorporate disaster risk planning in the master plans of urban and local governments to ease financial constraints on the state exchequer.

It will help make the health, water resources management, agriculture, and road sectors more resilient to calamities like Kerala witnessed in 2018 and 2019.

“The state of Kerala has shown resilience against the impacts of natural disasters and climate change,” a statement released to the media said.

“The government has been undertaking comprehensive shits in policies, institutions and programmes to address the challenges facing the state.”

The World Bank says limited fiscal space and high debt have severely constrained Kerala’s ability to deal with unexpected shocks.

The programme will establish a debt management unit in the department of finance to support the state’s efforts to scale down its debt-to-gdp ratio to a sustainable trajectory.

The programme is part of a series of WBfinanced operations in the state. The first Resilient Kerala Development Policy Operation approved in 2019 had undertaken several initiatives.

“Resilient Kerala will help institutionalise disaster preparedness across various sectors to ensure a resilient recovery and sustainable development pathway for the state,” it said.

The bank says it has drated an Act that will conserve and regulate water resources and ensure their sustainable management, allocation, and utilisation.

It also introduced climate-resilient agriculture, risk-informed land use and disaster management planning, besides laying foundations for a five-year partnership framework.