Asian Development Bank loan to tackle climate threats in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery Delta

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a $100 million loan agreement to strengthen a key irrigation and drainage system and improve water management in the Vennar subbasin of the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu.

The financing will be used to strengthen embankments of six major irrigation water channels in the Vennar system and rehabilitate 13 irrigation pumping schemes. The Cauvery river basin is a critical source of water for agriculture, both within Tamil Nadu and neighboring states. But a lack of investment over many years has left irrigation systems unable to meet user demand and increasingly vulnerable to floods and droughts.