By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 5: The central government has signed a loan deal worth USD 50 million with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday, aimed at enhancing water security by constructing water-harvesting systems to improve access to water and reducing community vulnerability against climate change impacts in Meghalaya.
The signatories to the loan agreement for the ‘Climate Adaptive Community Based Water Harvesting Project’ in Meghalaya were Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Juhi Mukherjee, for the Government of India, and Mio Oka, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, for ADB.
After signing the loan agreement, Mukherjee stated that the project aligns with the Meghalaya State Water Policy (MSWP) 2019, which seeks to achieve sustainable development, management, and utilisation of the state’s water resources through a participatory approach, reduce vulnerability, and promote integrated water resource management.
“Beyond financing, ADB’s value addition will involve assisting the state in implementing the MSWP and providing guidance on integrating climate adaptation measures into water security plans. This includes designing water harvesting systems (WHS) to support agriculture, fisheries, horticulture, water supply, and other productive livelihoods for economic development”, Oka said.
The project will help develop a state-wide WHS master plan considering micro catchment areas and disaster risk management. This will guide the creation of water security plans at the village level to be managed by the village employment councils, watershed management committees and water users’ associations.
The project will support the construction of 532 small water-storage facilities across 12 districts. These facilities will incorporate climate-resilient designs to capture and manage heavy rainfall and flash floods during monsoon season. The stored water shall improve water security during the dry season. The project will develop 3,000 hectares of command area to provide reliable irrigation areas for farmers. It will establish 50 weather stations for climate data gathering and monitoring, and micro-irrigation systems in Khasi, Jaintia and Garo regions. The project will also pilot-test renewable energy micro-hydropower in three WHSs.
ADB will help strengthen the capacity of the Meghalaya State Watershed and Wasteland Development Agency and the Soil and Water Conservation Department in water management, operation, and management. In addition, the project will train farmers, especially women, to increase livelihood productivity in irrigated agriculture such as horticulture and fishery techniques.