Odisha to Expedite WB-funded EAP to Protect Vulnerable Households from Climate Shocks

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has decided to expedite the World Bank funded Externally Aided Project (EAP) which is aimed at protecting the poor and vulnerable households from the impact of economic and climate shocks in the State.

A wrap-up meeting with the World Bank Mission Team on Externally Aided Project (EAP) – Odisha State Capability and Resilient Growth – was held at the Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.

The meeting was chaired by Development Commissioner-cum-ACS Anu Garg. Principal Secretary, Finance Department Vishal Kumar Dev; Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT Department Manoj Kumar Mishra; and other senior officers from the State Government and officials from the World Bank Mission Team were present in the meeting.

The Development Commissioner focused on expediting this WB-funded EAP which aims to protect the poor and vulnerable households from the impact of economic and climate shocks in Odisha; would be possible by managing disaster risks and facilitating better use of digital data for resilience, service delivery, and planning.

The Government of India signed this agreement with the World Bank on July 14 this year.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1183 crore and the state government counterpart funding is Rs 367 crore. OSCRGP has been declared effective from August 11 by the World Bank. The state Cabinet approved this project on December 27.

This EAP will augment the government’s efforts in three areas such as increasing coverage and scale-up of an Adaptive Social Protection System, Disaster Risk Management Planning and Programmes through the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), R&DM Department, Electronics & IT Department and Better Data Quality through Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES). An Independent Verification Agent (IVA) will assess the results achieved by the relevant line agencies.

The different components of the project include (i) the Development and Implementation of the Social Protection Delivery Platform (SPDP) (ii) State Data Policy guidelines and documentation for future rollout and adoption and (iii) Strengthening resilience through the deployment of early warning dissemination technology systems, and expanded citizen outreach.

Strengthening Statistical Systems for Better Planning and Resilience, Improving digital access and management of data for evidence-based policy-making and planning, and Implementation of computer-assisted survey technology (CAPI) were discussed in the meeting.

Strengthening disaster-related impact forecasting systems for improved response and coverage of early warnings alerts, Population covered (percent) by risk-informed Gram Panchayat Disaster Management Plans (GPDMP) that are integrated with development programs at the GP levels, Enhancing disaster risk management and disaster education capabilities through skilled human resource and facilities were also discussed in detail.

The activities to be carried out for the year 2023-24 were discussed with the participation of the World Bank Mission Team. The team shall meet different stakeholders in connection with the implementation of the project, according to an official release.