Union Minister of State for Planning V Narayanaswamy has said Karaikal district was likely to get a grant of Rs 72 crore under the centrally-sponsored 'Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas' (PURA) scheme.

The Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had identified a total of 15 areas, including Karaikal for implementing the scheme, he said in a release.

The MoRD had planned to implement the scheme with support from Department of Economic Affairs and the technical assistance of Asian Development Bank under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework between Gram Panchayats and private sector partners.

The scheme envisages twinning of rural infrastructure development with economic re-generation activities and is the first attempt at delivering a basket of infrastructure and amenities through 'PPP' in the rural areas.

Amenities like water supply and sewerage, roads, drainage, solid waste management, street lighting and power distribution and economic and skill development activities will be undertaken as part of the PURA project.

The private partners may also provide add-on revenue-earning facilities such as village linked tourism and integrated rural hub in addition to the other mentioned amenities.

Narayanaswamy said Karaikal was likely to receive a grant of Rs 72 crore under the PURA initiative. MoRD is at present working on the modalities and clearance for the project is expected during December this year, he said.

The scheme could generate direct and indirect employment to about 4000 persons in seven villages in Karaikal district besides giving a fillip to overall development of the region, he added.