NABARD selects 100 villages in Karnataka under WASH programme

Bengaluru: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Friday said it had selected 100 villages in Karnataka to finance the Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene 'WASH' programme under the pan-India Sanitary Literacy Campaign (SLC).

In the initial phase, the campaign will take off in the selected villages located in Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Uttara Kannada, Hassan and Kalaburagi. It will be taken up in other districts in a phased manner before January 26 next, the NABARD added. Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Javaid Akhtar launched the programme, the NABARD said in a statement.

Speaking on the occasion Niraj Kumar Verma, Chief General Manager, NABARD Karnataka Regional Office, said the need for good hygiene and sanitation, both at community and individual level had been further necessitated due to the present Covid-19 situation.

The NABARD had on Thursday announced earmarking Rs 800 crore for the financial year 2020-21 for special refinance facility to support the WASH programme across the country.

It had stated further that it will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions, including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks, with a repayment period of up to 36 months to all the States.