To ensure that the poor and the needy have access to hygiene, the State Cabinet on Wednesday decided to construct 1.5 lakh bathrooms at a cost of Rs. 20,000 each. A Cabinet meeting, presided by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, decided to construct 97,500 bathrooms for households belonging to the general category and 52,500 for those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Briefing presspersons, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs T.B. Jayachandra said that legislators would identify beneficiaries and contribute Rs. 6,000 for each bathroom from their local area development funds. The government and beneficiaries would share Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 2,000, respectively.
It was decided to modernise the 72.26 km Hemavathi canal to ensure utilisation of 45 tmcft of water allocated to the State by the Cauvery tribunal. Only 25 tmcft of water was being utilised currently owing to weak canals in Hassan, Mandya, and Tumakuru. The modernisation work would be taken up at a cost of Rs. 562.3 crore. Works would commence in April. The Cabinet decided to clear electricity bills of gram panchayats by utilising funds sanctioned under the Central Finance Commission from this month.
