The State government would take up Jala Nirmala scheme at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore in eleven districts of north Karnataka including Bagalkot, Bidar, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Haveri, Koppal, Raichur and Uttara Kannada. Home Minister V S Acharya, briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting, said that the scheme supported by the World Bank aims at improving drinking water supply and road connectivity in rural areas. The Cabinet has relieved the NEKRTC, functioning in north Karnataka region, from paying its road-tax dues of Rs 194.13 crore as it was not in a position to pay back the dues as it had been facing huge loss after the floods in the regions. The dues will be treated as its equity with the Corporation, he added. The cabinet gave its nod for construction of a barrage in Gulbarga at a cost of Rs 12.70 crore. The project would irrigate 1,383 acres of land. The Cabinet announced a new project named Kalampura to develop rural areas. The project has been named after former president Abdul Kalam. Kalam in his address to a joint legislature session in Karnataka had suggested PURA - providing urban amenities in rural areas. Acharya said the government would identify 200 hoblis and take up development works in villages of those hoblis. The programme would consist improving road connectivity, education and health facilities, sanitation, municipal solid waste management, setting up agro-based industries. The programme would help in improving standard of life in rural areas. The project would be implemented under a public private partnership (ppp) model. Each village would get up to Rs 2 crore under the programme, he said.