World Bank team to conduct appraisal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The World Bank team which is here to conduct an appraisal of the Phase II of the Jalanidhi project, implemented by Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (KRWSA), called on Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday. The team had arrived on August 16 and would be carrying out the appraisal of the project till August 27.The second phase of the project costs Rs. 1,000 crore and would reach out to 230 grama panchayats (GPs), covering nearly 15 lakhs of people. The Phase I had covered 112 GPs at a total cost of Rs. 411 crores, reaching out to 11.28 lakhs of people.The team which met the Chief Minister, was led by Martin Gambrill. On August 24 the team will meet Water Resources Minister P J Joseph. After appraising the Rs. 1000-crore project submitted by the Jalanidhi, the World Bank team will hold a negotiation in September and the same would come before the World Bank board in October.To start with, the second phase of the project is first being rolled out to a batch comprising 30 panchayats. A major difference in the Phase II is the increased participation of the GPs, besides a change in the cost sharing pattern and the institutional structure. The GPs enter into a direct agreement with the beneficiary groups (BGs)and will have a joint ownership of the assets along with the BGs.The share of the BG contribution has been reduced from 15 to 10 percent. Additional burden of 5 percent will be borne by concerned GPs and the Government share would continue to be 75 percent of the total projected cost. Also, in the second phase, KRWSA is providing a support team comprising one senior engineer and an accountant.