World Bank Disbursements, Million US Dollars

INDIA: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project

Key Dates:

Approved: June 20, 2013

Effective: Not yet Effective

Closing: July 28, 2018

Financing in million US Dollars:

World Bank Disbursements, million US Dollars

Project Background: In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004, the World Bank supported the project “India - Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project (ETRP)” for Tamil Nadu and the UT of Puducherry. The objective of the ETRP was to revive livelihoods and promote recovery in Tsunami affected areas. ETRP was restructured in August 2009, with the addition of a new component: ‘Vulnerability Reduction of Coastal Communities (VRCC). The VRCC extended the housing reconstruction program beyond those affected by the tsunami to the entire coast, targeting communities regularly exposed to cyclones, storm surges, coastal flooding (and potential tsunamis), also addressing these communities’ poor access to evacuation shelters and early warning systems. At the time of closure of the restructured ETRP on December 31, 2011, several works were either not completed or were yet to be taken up.

The ‘Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP)’, with focus on new initiatives in risk reduction and mitigation, integrating with the previous ETRP, takes into account the need for capacity building of various Government institutions and that of vulnerable coastal communities.

Project Development Objective and Components:

The CDRRP aims to increase the resilience of coastal communities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, to a range of hydro-meteorological and geophysical hazards along with improving project implementation entities capacity to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.

The project has five components.

1. Vulnerability reduction of coastal communities through infrastructure such as permanent houses, evacuation shelters and routes, and resilient electrical network;
2. Sustainable fisheries which aims at upgrading infrastructure, and addressing safety at sea;
3. Capacity building in disaster risk management of government institutions, civil society, the school education system and coastal communities;
4. Implementation support that includes incremental operating costs, that of operating the Project Management Unit (PMU) and respective Project Implementation Units (PIUs) in the line departments and
5. Contingent emergency financing which will be drawn by the government of Tamil Nadu and/ or Puducherryto cover emergency response and recovery costs.

The project will also retroactively finance on-going works from ETRP to the extent of about $78 million.

Results achieved: Project waiting signing and effectiveness.

Reconstruction of over 16,000 vulnerable houses from earlier ETRP are now complete and several fisheries infrastructure works are on-going.

Key partners:The project supports the Government of Tamil Nadu and Government of Puducherry in implementing the project and works with other state agencies such Fisheries Department, Environment and Forest Department, Public Works Department and Rural Development Department.