$112m World Bank credit for Chhattisgarh

The World Bank has financially supported the Chhattisgarh District Rural Poverty Project with a sum of $112.56 million.

The project is aimed at creating infrastructure and helping develop income-generating activities for people in poor, rural communities.

The credit, from the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessionary lending arm, has a 35-year maturity, with a 10-year grace period.

"The project aims to improve opportunities for the poor and vulnerable, especially women and indigenous people, to meet their own social and economic development objectives," said Luis Constantino, World Bank task leader for the project.

This will help disadvantaged people to form groups and work collectively to improve their living conditions. It will also support village governments in becoming more responsive and effective in assisting the populace.

Approximately 43 per cent of the people in Chhattisgarh live below the poverty line, with conditions of people in scheduled castes and tribal areas particularly poor.

Around 42 per cent of the rural population is without access to electricity, safe drinking water, or sanitation. The project is designed to support the poverty alleviation strategy of the Government of Chhattisgarh.

Similar initiatives have been incorporated at three other districts in the states of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

The Gram Panchayats (village governments) will be responsible for calling and chairing the Gram Sabha meetings, while the Zilla Panchayat (district governments) will be the central institutions in charge of project implementation in each district.

The Gram Panchayats will implement infrastructure sub-projects.

"One of the most important lessons we have learned is that to achieve sustained improvements in incomes, communities and local governments must be in the driver's seat, in control of funds and investment decisions," said Michael Carter, country director (India), World Bank.