Rs 1100 crore World Bank loan for HP

The World Bank has sanctioned a Rs 1100-crore loan to Himachal Pradesh for inclusive green growth, rural development minister Anil Sharma said today. The state government had prepared and submitted to the Centre a long term strategic and prospective plan of Rs 4668.71 crore for Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWWP) for bringing 31,12,472 hectares of land under it, he said.

The minister was speaking at a day-long workshop on strengthening of integrated watershed management programme guidelines organised by Rural Development Department here. Under the project, the state had so for sanctioned Rs 1035.16 crore for 131 such projects covering 6,90,112 hectares area of land. Works related to livelihood generation had been given priority under the project so that people living in such areas could be benefited.

The government was also converging IWWP with schemes like MGNREGA and due to the efforts of state government, the World Bank had sanctioned a development policy loan of Rs 1100 crore for Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development in various fields such as Watershed, Industries, and Tourism, he added.

He sought suggestions from the people to achieve the objectives of IWWP to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.