Work for World Bank's irrigation, flood protection project to start in January: Mamata
West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that work for a Rs 2,500 croreWorld Bank project to improve irrigation facilities and floodprotection measures in the Lower Damodar Basin benefitting thepeople of five districts will start from January.
She said that large water supply projects are alsogoing on in drought-prone Purulia and Bankura districts, apartfrom South 24 Parganas, to provide people with safe drinkingwater and irrigation facilities.
Addressing an administrative meeting here, Banerjeesaid, “Work for the Rs 2,500 crore Lower Damodar Basin projectof the World Bank which will cover the districts of Purba andPaschim Bardhaman, Howrah, Hooghly and Bankura will start fromJanuary.” The Centre, the government of West Bengal and theWorld Bank had on May 15 this year signed a loan agreement fora USD 145 million project to improve irrigation system acrossa total area of 3,93,964 hectare in the historicallyflood-prone Lower Damodar basin region.
The project which will benefit about 27 lakh farmersof the five districts also seeks to improve protection againstannual flooding, according to the World Bank.
At the administrative meeting, Banerjee asked thePublic Health Engineering (PHE) department to speed up work onongoing projects in South 24 Parganas, Purulia and Bankura.
Work for the project in Purulia has been delayed overcertain issues raised by an international funding agency, shesaid.
A senior PHE official told the chief minister thattendering process for the Purulia water supply project hasstarted and the work order is likely to be issued by December.
She directed the PHE and Urban Development departmentsto ensure enough supply of water during the dry season indrought-prone Purulia and Bankura districts.
A PHE official said that schemes for ensuring supplyof water, including the boring of 400 tube wells, in thedistricts of Purulia and Bankura have already been taken.
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