Minister directs Bengaluru rural gram panchayats to prioritise lasting drinking water infrastructure
Karnataka's Greater Bengaluru Development Minister reviewed the Bengaluru Urban district KDP meeting, pressing for permanent drinking water solutions and scientific waste management.
Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has asked gram panchayats in the rural parts of Bengaluru Urban district to make full use of available funds to tackle drinking water scarcity, urging them to invest in lasting infrastructure rather than short-term fixes.
Chairing the first-quarter Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) review meeting for 2026-27 on Wednesday, the Minister said drinking water ought to be viewed as a basic infrastructure need. He asked officials to look at reviving connections linked to defunct borewells instead of sanctioning fresh drilling as a matter of routine.
Noting that a large number of proposals seeking funds for new borewells keep coming in, he pointed out that over a thousand borewells in the district have been lying unused for years. He suggested that the RR numbers of these inactive borewells be transferred to new connections wherever it is feasible, and instructed officials to finish this exercise before the next review meeting.
Mr. Gowda also called for a share of gram panchayat grants to be set aside for durable assets, with drinking water and waste management as priority areas. Spending alone, he said, cannot be the yardstick for development, and every rupee spent should resolve a problem faced by the people.
On rural waste management, the Minister flagged concerns and stressed the need for a more scientific approach.
Turning to roads, he said an exercise carried out over the past year had identified scope for new roads within the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) limits around the city, and that some existing roads would be widened. He warned that strict action would follow if negligence or rule violations were found in executing these projects.
He further directed officials to identify vacant sites under gram panchayat jurisdiction for parks, playgrounds and sports facilities. Such land should be formally handed over for the purpose, with compound walls built on priority and the facilities developed thereafter depending on the funds available.