Karnataka approves Rs. 600-cr watershed project 'REWARD' with World Bank assistance

The Karnataka Cabinet has approved a project titled ‘Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agriculture Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD)’.
The REWARD project is designed to ensure soil and water conservation in 20 taluks with low groundwater levels in Karnataka.
The total cost of this project is Rs 600 crore.
The World Bank will fund 70% of the project amount, which amounts to Rs 420 crore, whereas, 30% of the expenses (Rs 180 crore) will be borne by the state government of Karnataka.
The project will cover 50,000 hectares of parched land with depleted groundwater table for watershed development in each of the 20 taluks to increase the groundwater table.
The taluks to be covered under the project are Bagepalli, Challakere, Shikaripur, Gundlupet, Harapanahalli, Sira, Arsikere, Kadur, Bailhongal, Athani, Hirekerur, Hungund, Kundgol, Bagewadi, Ron, Jewargi, Basavakalyan, Manvi, Yelburga, and Shahapur.