The World Bank has approved a 400-million US dollar (2,44 milliarder DKR) aid package for the development of rural roads in India aimed to provide access to markets and improve amenities for the rural population, reports The Hindustan Times.
The Rural Roads Project will support Indias national program under way to provide all-weather roads in villages and remote hamlets.
The funds would be in addition to the existing government funding for the construction and maintenance of the rural road network in four of the most poorly connected states – Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Under the new funding, the projects scope would be expanded to Bihar and other poorly connected states, the World Bank said in a statement Friday.
The Economic Times of India, adds that Piers Vickers, a World Bank senior transport specialist, said “an estimated 200 million people are without all-weather road access in India…This constrains economic activities in rural areas and prevents the rural population, who constitute the majority of Indias poor, from being fully integrated into the economy and accessing essential services, such as basic healthcare and education.
Some of the other benefits of the project include lower costs of commodities and agricultural inputs, more regular and reliable public transport, appreciation in land value, and incentives for service providers (teachers, health personnel, extension staff and commercial vendors) to relocate to rural areas.
In addition to improved level of access to education and health facilities and increased investments in other infrastructure, the project will also bring opportunities and incentives for farmers to produce higher yields and diversify crops.
Substantial employment will be generated in both new construction and maintenance of road works.
In other news from India, the World Bank said it will provide a 68 million US dollar loan to India to help the government improve availability of data on high priority diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
World Bank country head Michael Carter said the project supports Indias vision for consolidating and integrating disease surveillance and prepares it to monitor emerging diseases.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
