India: Strengthening disaster preparedness
Bhubaneswar: If all goes well, the Rs 441-crore National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) would get underway in Orissa beginning April. With a major component of it coming as a grant from World Bank, it will go a long way in strengthening disaster preparedness of the State now facing [the] wrath of climate change making it increasingly vulnerable to calamities.
A 14-member team from the World Bank and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) arrives here tomorrow for assessing institutional preparedness for implementation of the project.
The World Bank Mission team comprises nine members, led by NVV Raghava whereas NDMA team would be headed by NCRMP Director CB Shankar. If the team is convinced about State’s preparedness, the mission will be treated as the appraisal one before the implementation gets underway.
The State Government is already making a budgetary provision of Rs 33 crore for the fiscal 2009-10.
Project period for NCRMP would be 2009-10 to 2011-12. While this project is estimated at Rs 441 crore with a Central share of 75 per cent, the State will bear 25 per cent. In fact, the Central share will come as a grant from the World Bank. Of the State share, 25 per cent is the plan outlay for the fiscal 2009-10.
In fact, NCRMP is targeted to be implemented in 13 coastal States and Union Territories. In Orissa, it is planned to be executed in Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam and also in parts of Khurda which adjoins Chilika lagoon.
Sources in Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) which will be the nodal agency for implementation, said that the project will have four components. The first component is proposed to cover VHF connectivity to the villages in 2 to 5 km of the coast.
The second component will be about structural measures, while the third will cover capacity building. The last one is project implementation as well as monitoring.
In fact, the State Government has submitted a project proposal for NCRMP four years back during 2004 for Rs 234.7 crore which was subsequently revised to Rs 609.4 crore under the second component.
The NDMA, however, asked the Orissa Government to limit the proposal to Rs 400 crore following which the Rs 441-crore estimation was submitted. Sources said, it will include components for cyclone shelters (Rs 130 crore), coastal embankment and canal (Rs 150 crore), shelter belt plantation and regeneration of mangroves (Rs 20 crore), shelter connectivity (Rs 120 crore) and strengthening the fishing communities. The mission team will wrap up its visit on Wednesday.