Southern States - Karnataka   

Govt. not keen on World Bank loan for UKP package

By B.S. Ramesh
and Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE Dec. 10. Though the World Bank had twice suspended aid to Karnataka on the issue of rehabilitation and resettlement of people displaced by the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) in Bagalkot district, it has now come forward to finance the rehabilitation project. However, neither the State Government nor the UKP authorities want any loan from the World Bank.

The Commissioner for the UKP (Rehabilitation, Resettlement, and Land Acquisition) and ex-officio Secretary to the Revenue Department, S.M. Jamdar, told The Hindu on Tuesday that all major works pertaining to rehabilitation and resettlement were on the verge of completion.

He said the entire work would be completed in a year's time. Under the rehabilitation and resettlement package, 800 of the 2,400 places of worship had already been shifted at a cost of Rs. 35 crore from the Rs. 80 crore earmarked for it.

So far, the UKP authorities had spent nearly Rs. 2,500 crore on the rehabilitation and resettlement package. The massive relief package covered 179 villages in Alamatti taluk of which 136 villages had already been shifted.

The project, Mr. Jamdar said, had affected four lakh people, including 50,000 people in Bagalkot town alone. The authorities had acquired 3.27 lakh acres of land from private parties.

The authorities had also constructed four bridges, including a six-km-long bridge at Kolhar village connecting Bijapur. The cost of the four bridges was estimated at Rs. 60 crore. The main canals from the raised dam at Alamatti were almost complete. However, land development and tributary canals were yet to be completed, he said.

While the World Bank had lent Rs. 640 crore, including the first instalment of Rs. 140 crore, it had twice suspended aid for the project.

Since the Government and the UKP authorities found many of the bank's conditions unpalatable, they decided to raise money from the public through bonds.

Mr. Jamdar said the response from the public to the bonds had been more than enthusiastic. While the bonds were issued at an interest rate of nine per cent, the World Bank loan would have entailed an interest rate of at least 12 per cent to 13 per cent. Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. (KBJNL) was providing finance to the UKP by raising money through the sale of bonds, he said.

Interestingly, the World Bank, which has been impressed with the rehabilitation and resettlement package taken up in the last few years, has been repeatedly reminding the Government and the UKP authorities about the loan they could avail from it. However, neither the Government nor the UKP seem keen to go in for the loan, as there were several conditions which, if accepted, will push up costs further. A World Bank team is likely to visit the UKP site next month.

The UKP rehabilitation and resettlement package is one of the biggest of its kinds in the country and four times bigger than the one undertaken in connection with the Narmada River Valley Project. The UKP, when completed, will irrigate 25 lakh acres of land.

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