J&K eyes Rs 30mn WB funding for health sector

SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir government is pushing for more than Rs 300 crore funding from the World Bank for strengthening health infrastructure in the Union Territory as part of COVID-19 emergency response plan, sources disclosed.
Sources that chief executive officer of Jehlum- Tawi Flood Recovery Project, Syed Abid Rasheed is vigorously the proposal with the World Bank and Department of Economic Affairs, Union Finance Ministry, which is responsible for externally- funded projects.
“J&K government is keen on utilizing more than Rs 300 crore to augment infrastructure and facilities in healthcare institutions of J&K,” they said, adding that World Bank and DEA is likely to give its go-ahead to the proposal.
The project is part of the restructuring of existing Rs 1500 crore project to direct funds to the health emergency.
In March this year, the World Bank Group President David Malpass said that densely populated countries such as India, where weak health systems need massively scalable investments in human capital, supplies and infrastructure.
He said that they are restructuring existing projects in order to direct funds to the health emergency. In 2015, the World Bank approved Rs 1500 crore for reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and strengthening of disaster management mechanism in J&K.
The project was approved after a joint team led by Union Finance Ministry officials and comprising representatives from the WB and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) visited the State on October 21, 2014 to assess the situation