AGARTALA, June 20 (TIWN): In a major boost towards rural development in Tripura, the Indo-German Development Corporation (IGDC) project-II of Rs. 280 crore has been sanctioned— an agreement has already been signed in New Delhi.

With the sincere efforts of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, the project has been approved and will give a huge boost to the economic growth of rural people.

In the second phase, the project titled “Climate Resilience of Forest Ecosystems, Biodiversity & Adaptive Capacities of Forest Dependent Communities in Tripura” will be implemented in 191 villages of two districts- Dhalai and North Tripura over a period of seven years.

The total project cost is Rs. 280 crore which includes KfW share of Rs. 200 crore.

Under this project, over 1,30,000 climate vulnerable people (26,000 households of which about 60 percent are from indigenous section) will get the benefit directly in terms of reduced climate vulnerability, enhanced access to ecosystem services and more diversified livelihoods opportunities and greater household incomes. In addition, a further 78,000 households (about 4 lakh people) will benefit indirectly.

The project aims at reducing forest degradation and increasing incomes of the target groups by introducing sustainable, climate-adapted participatory management of natural resources in the region. 

The proposed project has been designed based on previous experiences in Tripura with IGDC project in the forest sector but differs significantly from the earlier project. In the second phase, instead of attempting to enhance local livelihoods directly, the project will focus on the landscape components on which the target group depends-- with the aim of enhancing climate resilience and thus enabling forests and other lands to provide better services for dependent households.

The main quantitative results include- 191 participatory village level plans (VDPs) prepared or updated, 1,600 ha treated with soil and water conservation measures, 420 check dams constructed and 60 springs rejuvenated, 2,000 ha of forest treated with assisted natural regeneration and 2,500 ha of forest treated with enrichment planting (of high value timber trees), 1,200 ha of high density bamboo plantation established, 2,850 ha of 3-tier plantation established, 2,000 ha of community-based conservation areas and 2 Eco-tourism sites established, 1,000 ha of forest corridors and 500 ha of aquatic corridors established, 11 cluster-level Farm and Forest Products Centres (FFCPs) established, 43 producer/processing entities supported to get ISO 9001 certification and 4 entities with organic certification.