I see the political will in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to change the face of the state,” World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva told The Sunday Guardian. She was on a two-day visit to Mumbai to discuss investment in critical projects in the sate. The World Bank has announced a whopping Rs 7,000 crore loan to Maharashtra. This is the highest loan amount granted to any state in India by the international organisation in the recent past. The loan will be given for a period of over 18-20 years, and at Libor plus rates and will be invested in critical sectors like road connectivity, water conservation, energy sector, climate resilient agriculture, Metro phase three project of Mumbai and towards making of smart cities.
While talking about the issue of climate change, she said that the World Bank had developed expertise in the area of climate resilience way back in the 1990s. “When many in the world had denied to even accept that climate change was happening, we had started building our expertise in it. We have worked for decades in the field of climate resilience. We have focused on how best communities in countries can cope with climate change. We have helped identify how water pollution can be prevented. We have developed expertise in how agricultural productivity can be increased by taking multiple crops. We have provided direct funding of $1.7million to different countries just in climate change. Necessity of climate action is to balance mitigation. In China, the efforts have led to reclamation of desert. The most unfortunate part of climate change is that those who don’t contribute to it have to bear the maximum brunt of it,” she said.
In Maharashtra, the World Bank funds will help the government take up climate resilient agricultural practices in over 5,000 villages in drought-affected areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada.
The CEO, who travelled in a crowded Mumbai local train in a second class women’s compartment, held conversation with fellow women passengers about their expectations and priorities from the public transport system. When asked about her experience of travelling on a local train, she said she would be concerned about the safety of the passengers during rush hours. She said the World Bank team would push for safety as a prominent aspect for rail network expansion in Mumbai.
“For us, definitely, safety on rail traffic is the main concern. The aim is to get capacity to carry more people comfortably. There is willingness to pay for better service,” she said.
Georgieva asserted that the city needs to do a lot to address infrastructure and civic issues such as lack of sewage treatment plants and garbage disposal issues. “Yes, there are lots of problems that Mumbai faces, from sewage to transport, to safety. But the world over, cities have turned the page, so can Mumbai. London was a smokehouse. See what it has become today. What is critical is the willingness to pay and the ability to charge for better services,” she told the correspondent.
She also visited Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums. “I was impressed with the cleanliness in the slum area,” she said.
Georgieva said that the World Bank also brings in knowledge along with investment. “Knowledge is infused, systems are crested. We help develop sustainable ecosystem.”
According to officials of the delegation of World Bank, a team of experts will work closely with the state government. The Bank will also encourage the private sector investment and expertise to solve the issues, officials of the delegation of World Bank said.
Devendra Fadnavis thanked the World Bank for the funds granted to the state, and said that the best part of World Bank’s involvement was the world class expertise on modern knowledge and work methods. For the expansion of Maharashtra’s water management flagship programme of Jalayukta Shivar Yojana, the state will need loan of Rs 6,000 crore for implementing the scheme in 15,000 villages in the time span of three years.