Karnataka has prepared a ₹150-crore plan to rejuvenate 500 lakes across seven districts, with Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B Khಂಡre directing district officials to begin the work quickly amid concerns over drinking water availability in villages, according to Prajavani.
The minister issued the instructions during a video conference with chief executive officers of district panchayats at Vikas Soudha. The meeting focused on drought conditions and drinking water problems in rural areas. Officials were asked to move ahead with lake and canal restoration while the water bodies remain dry and construction activity can be carried out more easily.
The World Bank-supported programme covers 68 lakes in Bengaluru Rural, 67 in Bengaluru Urban, 44 in Bidar, 90 in Chikkaballapur, 49 in Kalaburagi, 96 in Tumakuru and 86 in Kolar. The plan includes desilting, repairing and raising lake bunds, restoring canals and carrying out beautification work. The reported project also involves the VB-G Ramji programme.
Khandre said the restoration work should be completed in preparation for the next rainfall season. According to the minister’s directions, rainfall could refill the restored lakes and help address water shortages during the following summer. The programme is also expected to improve soil moisture and groundwater levels, although the report does not provide district-wise targets for recharge or storage capacity.
The distribution of the proposed works places the largest number of identified lakes in Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur, Kolar and Bengaluru Rural. Together, these four districts account for 340 of the 500 water bodies listed under the plan. The remaining lakes are located in Bengaluru Urban, Bidar and Kalaburagi. The source report does not specify the individual lake names, implementation schedule, contractor details or the funding split between the World Bank-supported programme and other participating agencies.
The minister also directed chief executive officers and panchayat development officers to ensure that villages receive clean drinking water. Regular testing of water supplies was ordered, with officials told to investigate contamination complaints from the water source through to household taps and prevent wastewater from entering drinking water systems.
The meeting linked lake restoration with the rural employment guarantee programme. Khandre said employment generation under the VB-G Ramji programme remained low in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Kodagu, among other districts. With state housing schemes brought within the employment guarantee programme, officials were told to use the available work opportunities to reduce distress migration from villages.
The minister further directed officials to ensure that workers receive wages within 15 days of completing work. He said delayed payments could discourage labourers from participating and undermine the purpose of the programme. Chief executive officers were instructed to issue clear directions to panchayat development officers and treasury officials on timely wage payments.
Senior officials, including department secretary Sameer Shukla, and district panchayat chief executive officers participated in the video conference. The next operational steps are the commencement of lake and canal restoration, water-quality monitoring and payment arrangements for workers engaged under the employment guarantee programme.
