The State government has issued orders granting in-principle approval to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) to take a loan of ₹9,000 crore from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for completing the water supply works under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
In the first phase, the KWA will secure a loan of ₹5,000 crore, according to the orders issued by the State Water Resources department on September 15 on the basis of an approval given by the Kerala Cabinet.
In giving its approval, the government has instructed the Managing Director, KWA, to make sure that only those works that are critical for operationalising partially implemented schemes, the delays of which could result in ‘‘infructuous expenditure,” are started. The State government has also provided its guarantee for taking ₹5,000 crore in the first phase, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine had informed the State Assembly last week.
For the JJM, which envisions 100% tap connectivity in rural households across India, the Centre and the State government share the cost on a 50:50 basis. The KWA had begun exploring the possibility for taking a loan from agencies such as NABARD, Life Insurance Corporation, HUDCO or World Bank as the State faced challenges in mobilising its matching share of the project cost.
