State Rural WatSan project to be extended

The MoU, signed by the RD&PR department Principal Secretary P Ravi Kumar and World Bank representative Ben Eijbergen at Vidhana Soudha, will enable the Government to avail Rs 816-crore long-term loan from the World Bank for the project.

Contribution

The World Bank will finance up to 85 per cent of the project, while the State Government and the local communities will contribute the remaining 15 per cent. Under the project, an estimated 40 lakh people in rural areas of Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bidar, Bijapur, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Koppal, Raichur and Uttara Kannada, will get access to efficient and clean drinking water supply.

The project has already commenced from July 1, 2010, and it is expected to be implemented by June 2013.

Besides, works for rejuvenation of ground water sources, village internal lanes, drainage works, promotion of smokeless chulhas and activities for institutional strengthening and capacity building of panchayat raj institutions will also be undertaken.