India to receive World Bank loan for Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project

The World Bank and the government of India have signed a $360m credit agreement for the Uttar Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project Phase 2.

Indian finance ministry economic affairs department joint secretary Nilaya Mitash said: "The Government of India has identified the need for a more holistic strategy for aquifer management, improving governance through water user associations and focusing on rehabilitating and modernising existing irrigation systems in critical areas for not only better management and efficiency of water resources, but also to help improve agricultural growth in the state."

Water User Associations (WUA) played a greater role in managing available water for farms during the Phase 1 project, along with managing the operations and maintenance of local systems, resolving conflicts among competing users, and assessing water charges.

The project also includes a specialised flood management information system, as more than 30% of Uttar Pradesh is flood-prone.

The Uttar Pradesh Remote Sensing Applications Center, as part of the project’s innovative monitoring and evaluation design, will monitor the performance of project agriculture areas using satellite imageries.

The project also plans to develop an integrated water resources information system hosted by the State Water Resources Agency (SWARA) since water resources are currently being planned, developed and managed by different departments in the state.

SWARA will also develop river basin plans for the eight major basins in the state and undertake special studies on the impacts of climate change.