World Bank's assurance on TN irrigation, housing projects

Chennai, Jun 22: World Bank India Director Michael Carter today assured Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi that the bank would accord sanction for the Rs 3,900 crore irrigation project and release special funds for construction of 20,000 houses on the state's coastline.

Mr Carter gave this assurance during a 30-minute meeting with Mr Karunanidhi at the State Secretariat here.

One project related to modernisation of irrigation facilities in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 3,900 crore while the second pertained to special allocation from the funds already allotted for building 20,000 new concrete houses in the place of those not affected by the December 26 Tsunami.

The government had decided to build concrete houses as they were located within 200 m from the sea and could face threats from natural calamities in future.

When the Chief Minister appealed to Mr Carter to expedite approval for the irrigation project to be taken up with World Bank assistance, he said it would soon examine the project and accord the sanction.

During the meeting, Mr Carter also promised to immediately consider the Chief Minister's request for special allocation of funds for constructon of the concrete houses.

Mr Karunanidhi and Mr Carter also discussed the progress made on the projects being implemented with the World Bank assistance and the Chief Minister thanked the bank for its financial support in undertaking tsunami rehabilitation programmes.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr Carter told waiting newspersons that the rural water supply project and the water resources consolidation project in the state would take off in the next nine months at a total cost of 500 million US dollars. Stating he had a ''very good meeting'' with the Chief Minister, he said he discussed some of the ongoing projects in the state with Mr Karunanidhi.

The projects included reconstruction of tsunami-affected areas for which the World Bank had committed a whopping 1.3 billion USD.

Already five projects funded by the World Bank, including a poverty alleviation project (158 million USD) and urban development project (435 million USD), which were approved in July 2005, would continue till 2011.

Besides Mr Karunanidhi, Finance Minister K Anbazhagan, Ministers for Power, Local Bodies, PWD, Revenue, Housing, People Welfare, Fisheries and Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary participated in the meeting.

UNI