Announcement of World Bank and IDA to Support First Irrigation Project in India Using Underground Plastic Pipes on June 28, 1982

0 I • FOR IMM~DIA TE REL~ASF .. t•World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 82/130 Contact: Hugh Blackman . IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 8 2/ 94 .. { 202) 477-387 9 J'une 28, 1982 WORLD BANK AND IDA TO SUPPORT FIRST IRRIGATION PROJECT IN INDIA USING UNDERGROUND PLASTIC PIPES Small lanGiholders in the Kallada River area of Kerala State, southwest India, will be helped in their ef'forts to increase agricultural product! vi ty through a combined loan and credit from the Wo~ld Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) totaling $80. 3 million. The Government of Ke,rala is providing half of the total costs of a $160.3 million project for year-round irrigation and more intensive cultivation of tree crops, primarily coconuts, on hillside lands and paddy crops in valley bottoms, in an area cove ring 37 , 6 00 hectares. The funds will go towards completion, by 1984, of the partially completed Kallada dam and the construction of two main canals and associated minor water conveyance systems, and the provision of app~opriate support services. This will be, the first major gravity irrigation project to be carried out in India. using low~~pressure underground plastic pipes to irrigate garden lands, where the topography does not permit the use of conventional open channel methods. The Kerala Department of Agricu,lture has established a special section to ensure that adequate support services are provided to farmers. As a result of increased yields from tree crop~ and paddy, !ncomes of small landholders are expected to increase. The number of household(/ below the poverty line is expected to be reduced by one-third within the project ;,area. Civil works construction will generate about 22,000 jobs for five years. The consortium of governments and institutions that met recently under the chairmanship of the WorlJ;d Bank to discuss developm~nt assistance to India had underscored, among other things, the government's intentions to sustain high levels of investment in irrigation. The World Bank loan of $20.3 million will have a repayment period of 20 years, including five years of grace, at 11.6% interest per annum, and a standard front:--end fee of 1.5%. The IDA credit of SDR(i,52.3 million ($60 million) if3 for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries' no interest, but bears a small annual service charge of 0.5% on the undisburG.e.d balances of the credit, and O. 7 5% on the disbursed balances. IDA is the World Bank !s affiliate for concessionary lending. NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equl vaJent of the SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates e}d.st:.ing at the time of negotiation of the credit.