Rs 750 Cr for Drinking Water supply in rural areas: Minister

Gulbarga, Dec 12 (UNI) Karnataka Minister for Rural Water Supply S A Ravindra Nath today said that the State government has sanctioned Rs 750 Crore to ensure supply of pure drinking water in rural areas.

Addressing a press conference, after participating in a Seminar organised by the Press Information Bureau on 'Rural Water Supply and Cleanliness' at Yadgir, he said that a Rs 450 Crore proposal has been submitted to the Centre to provide pure drinking water to 163 fluoride affected villages under the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme. Under the project, drinking water would be supplied directly through rivers or lakes to the affected villages.

Mr Nath said that the Centre has released a sum of Rs 800 Crore under Jala Nirmala scheme to Karnataka. A sum of Rs 325 crore had been set aside for 'Sampoorna Swachata Andolan' scheme in the State, of which Rs 77 crore was already spent while the remaining amount would be utilised for providing sanitation facilities during the next three years.

He said that the State Government has accorded top priority to drinking water supply in North Karnataka and there was no dearth of funds.

He said that it was proposed to increase financial aid from Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,000 to BPL families for construction of toilets under 'Sampoorna Swachata Andolan'.

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