Secretary, DoLR, Ajay Tirkey Reviews World Bank's REWARD Program Implementation Support Mission

The Secretary of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) in the Government of India, Ajay Tirkey, recently conducted a review of the Implementation Support Mission for the Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) program. This program, assisted by the World Bank, aims to develop watersheds and enhance agricultural resilience through modern practices.

REWARD, which will run from 2021 to 2026, has specific objectives to strengthen the capacity of national and state institutions in adopting improved watershed management techniques. The program also aims to enhance farmers' resilience and support value chains in selected watersheds across participating states. The Department of Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural Development, as well as the states of Karnataka and Odisha, are actively implementing the program.

The REWARD program has a total budget outlay of USD 167.71 million, spanning a program period of 4.5 years. This funding includes USD 115 million from the World Bank (USD 60 million for Karnataka, USD 49 million for Odisha, and USD 6 million for DoLR), USD 46.71 million from the participating states (USD 25.71 million for Karnataka and USD 21.0 million for Odisha), and USD 6 million from DoLR. The funding pattern follows a 70:30 ratio between the World Bank and states, while it is 50:50 between the World Bank and DoLR.

At the central level, the REWARD program focuses on managing, monitoring, communicating, and sharing knowledge within the DoLR. At the state level, it aligns with the scope of the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) 2.0. It supports the implementation of science-based activities and demonstrations to foster broader perspectives of the WDC-PMKSY 2.0 in other states of India.

During the third Implementation Support Mission (ISM), a team from the World Bank, led by Preeti Kumar, visited the DoLR and the participating states to review the progress and discuss the plan of action for the next six months. Subsequently, the team visited the Department of Land Resources, where they debriefed the outcomes of the ISM to Secretary Ajay Tirkey. The team acknowledged that the progress of the REWARD program is on track and commended the efforts of DoLR. They requested continuous support from the Secretary to achieve the program's goals as per the Disbursement Linked Indicators.

Various points were discussed during the debriefing meeting, including the strengthening of the Centre for Excellence on watershed components in Bengaluru, organizing a national-level workshop on science-based watershed management, developing protocols for expanding the Land Resource Inventory (LRI) pilot program across the country, providing LRI-based digital advisory services to farmers, and facilitating exposure visits for REWARD officials.

The meeting was attended by Nitin Khade, Joint Secretary (WM), Dr. C.P. Reddy, Senior Additional Commissioner, members of the ISM from the World Bank, experts from the National Project Management Unit (NPMU) of the REWARD program, and other officials from the DoLR. The discussion highlighted the collaborative efforts to ensure the success of the REWARD program and its significant impact on watershed management and agricultural resilience in India.