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Gujarat relief: IBRD focus on rural housing

Vinod Mathew

GANDHINAGAR, July 10

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its sectoral allocation of the $500-million emergency loan for Gujarat earthquake rehabilitation, has earmarked rural housing as the single most important area, followed by urban and rural infrastructure. While rural Kutch will see $200 million infused by the ADB into the housing sector, infrastructure areas such as water supply, sewerage and sanitation would receive $173 million in the next 30 months.

Talking to Business Line, Mr Frank J. Polman, Resident Representative, India Mission, said the first tranche of $75 million has already been disbursed on May 31 as the loan, which was scheduled to become effective in mid-March, finally got going on May 1 7. As per the original scheduling by the ADB of the emergency fund for Gujarat, the first tranche of $50 million was to be made available on March 31, but the sanctioned loan had to await another two full months before the metre started ticking.

``As we are providing only 80 per cent of the $625-million rehabilitation project, the Gujarat Government has promised us that it would make budgetary allocation for the remaining $125 million. We are looking at the definite prospect of disbursing anothe r $75 million in the next couple of months, by August. It would be a revolving mechanism to keep getting replenished against the eligible project expenditure. We hope to complete the project in 30 months' time, the outer limit being 36 months'', Mr Polma n said.

Earlier, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), in consultation with Arthur Andersen, decided to allocate urban housing and roads to the World Bank, while allocating six sectors to the ADB. Other than the major two, the sectors demarcat ed for the project are power at $67 million, livelihood rehabilitation and disaster preparedness at $20 million each and consulting services along with incremental administrative support at $15 million. The ADB, in a joint assessment with the World Bank, had put the earthquake damage in the State at $2.3 billion.