India Enters Deals for Coastal Protection

Indian Government and the World Bank yesterday signed two financing agreements aimed at reducing vulnerability of coastal communities from cyclones and hydro meteorological hazards.

The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project-I (NCRMP-I) and NCRMP-II, valued at $104 million and $308.4 million respectively, will help eight Indian states – with coastlines on either sides of the peninsula – improve their access to emergency shelter, evacuation against wind storms and flooding and storm surge in high risk areas, reported the IANS.

According to the finance ministry statement, the eight states are Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha on the eastern side on the Bay of Bengal coast, and Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra on the Arabian Sea coast.

Both projects consist of four components – early warning dissemination system (EWDS) and capacity building for coastal communities, cyclone risk mitigation infrastructure, technical assistance for national and state level capacity building on disaster risk management and project management and implementation support.