The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Rs. 1,500-cr. loan to be sought for water and sanitation project

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Friday, Dec 05, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rs. 1,500-cr. loan to be sought for water and sanitation project

Special Correspondent

The scheme will be implemented in 1,370 villages of 15 districts

The World Bank will fund the project
Cabinet decides to establish the Vijayanagar Urban Development Authority

BANGALORE: The State Government will seek a Rs. 1,500-crore loan from the World Bank for implementing the third Karnataka Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in 1,370 villages of 15 districts.

Briefing presspersons after a meeting of the State Cabinet here on Thursday, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje said the project aimed at increasing the access of rural communities to improved and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services in fluoride-hit areas.

The five-year project would be implemented in Bangalore Rural and Bangalore Urban, Bellary, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kolar, Chickballapur, Ramanagara, Mandya, Raichur, Koppal, Davangere, Mysore, Tumkur and Gulbarga districts. The second Karnataka Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project executed between 2001-2007 was also funded by the World Bank. The project would institutionalise decentralisation of rural water supply and sanitation service delivery to gram panchayats and user groups.

The project would only utilise surface water to provide potable drinking water to the people in the villages, she said.

A decision was taken to establish the Vijayanagar Urban Development Authority and it would cover 43 villages in Bellary district. The major purpose of the authority is to take up works for the development of industrial areas.

Ms. Karandlaje said the Cabinet decided to absorb 144 postgraduate teachers working in the newly established government medical colleges at Mandya, Belgaum, Bidar, Shimoga, Raichur, Mysore and Bangalore. These colleges had been facing shortage of teaching staff. The decision to appoint 144 teachers would be intimated to the Medical Council of India.

It was decided to construct new market complexes by demolishing the existing ones at Hampanakatte, Urava and Derabial in Mangalore city. The Mangalore Urban Development Authority and Mangalore City Corporation would develop the market complexes on public-private partnership. New shops would be given to traders for a 30-year lease.

A sum of Rs. 17.57 crore was approved for developing a 2.5-km road between Maryhill and Maravoor (Mangalore-Bajpe airport road). The Centre would provide 70 per cent of the cost under the Assistance for States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE), while the State Government would take care of the rest.

The Cabinet decided to grant five guntas land to a Muslim organisation of Srinagar in Belgaum district for the construction of a mosque. A decision was taken to declare a government holiday for Bakrid on December 9.

The Cabinet approved the setting up of a skill commission for providing 10 lakh jobs in the next five years. The Government has already conducted job fairs in Bangalore and Hubli and 30,000 candidates have registered. To hold job fairs in all districts, the Cabinet decided to sanction an additional Rs. 30 crore. Already, Rs. 25 crore had been sanctioned. The Labour Department has been organising the job fairs.

The Cabinet decided to provide government guarantee to the Karnataka State Marketing Federation to raise a Rs. 125-crore loan from the State Bank of Mysore to purchase fertilizers.

A decision was taken to procure maize at Rs. 840 per quintal from farmers. The Karnataka State Marketing Federation would procure the maize in the districts.

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