Punjab cabinet approves USD 285.71 mn canal water supply project for Amritsar, Ludhiana

The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved a USD 285.71 million project for canal-based water supply for Amritsar and Ludhiana under World Bank financing, said the state government spokesperson.

The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved a USD 285.71 million project for canal-based water supply for Amritsar and Ludhiana under World Bank financing, said the state government spokesperson. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) would finance USD 200 million (70 per cent) and Punjab Government USD 85.71 million (30 per cent), as per the proposal mooted by the Local Government department for the adoption of Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) under Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project.

The project would have four components including strengthening urban and water supply service management with a total cost of USD 11.61 million, improving water supply infrastructure at USD 240.38 million, besides Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement involving the cost of USD 15.62 million, COVID crisis response to the tune of USD 10 million and project management at USD 7.6 million, in addition to Front End Fee of USD 0.5 million. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that the RPF lays down procedures and measures to ensure adequate accountability and transparency in the process of assessing land-related impacts.

"A fair process will be put in place for acquiring land and for compensating those adversely impacted due to replacement cost as described in ESS5 of World Bank, so as to improve or at least restore their livelihoods and standards of living to pre-project levels," the spokesperson said further. The spokesperson added that the engagement would be under the framework of the State Partnership between the Punjab Government and the World Bank.

"The project would invest in bulk water infrastructure, establish new institutional models for Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) service delivery, and also strengthen financial sustainability and customer orientation in WSS delivery. Additionally, the project would extend flexible just-in-time resources and capacity support to the Punjab government and Municipal Councils across the state to tackle some of the critical challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially strengthening city-level response and focusing on frontline service providers," the spokesperson added. (ANI)

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