BENGALURU: Urban Development Minister BA (Byrathi) Basavaraj on Tuesday said that he had presented a request seeking Rs 10,000 crore for creating better urban infrastructure in Karnataka’s smaller towns. The minister is participating in the three-day urban conclave in Lucknow which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also participated.
Speaking to TNIE, Byrathi Basavraj said he had tried to get an appointment with the PM, but owing to the latter’s tight schedule, he could not get time exclusively with Modi.
However, he communicated the state’s request to the PMO and met Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri where he put forth the request for a large project that will support Karnataka’s 75 towns with underground drainage and 60 towns with drinking water. “The Union minister responded positively to the request,’’ he claimed.
In a letter, minister Basavaraj said these infrastructure developments are important to ensure that the population from smaller towns do not move into Bengaluru, further congesting the city. He said the state government is seeking to improve tier-2 and tier-3 cities and the other urban centres.
“Drinking water and UGD have been taken up under Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board. The 15th Finance Commission has identified drinking water and sanitation as national priority. The drinking water project to provide a network of pipes, pumps and storage points, will require about Rs 4,000 crore and the UGD lines, which will rid the towns of toilet pits, will cost about Rs 6,000 crore, he noted.