India: West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management

approved

The project tentatively consists of the following four components: • Component One: Irrigation Modernization This component aims to reduce operational water losses across the system and allow the available water to service a greater combined area across all crop seasons. The investment would include improving water conveyance and allocation and increasing storage potential and  strengthening institutions that are responsible for irrigation management. • Component Two: Water Resources Management. This component mainly aims to alleviate annualized flooding in the Lower Damodar sub-basin area. The investment would mitigate flooding hotspots by carrying out channel desilting works, flow regulation structure modification and embankment reconstruction at key locations. In close collaboration with the World Bank-funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project, the investment would also include measures to strengthen forecasting and analysis capability to improve dam operation and water storage management in upstream reservoirs. Opportunities will also be explored for ways to capture and direct wet season water in order to recharge groundwater. • Component Three: Command Area Development. This component would complement the irrigation system improvement under Component One, with the aim of improving water delivery and allocation below the outlet level (effectively at tertiary command level). The investment would include infrastructure development, capacity strengthening and institutional reforms for improving irrigation at tertiary command level. • Component Four: Project Management and Institutional Development.  This component would support strengthening of the capacity for project management of both the IWD and the Project Management Unit , including, inter alia, procurement, financial management and monitoring and evaluation.