The State Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to provide drinking water to the residents of Anekal and the Karnataka Housing Board’s Suryanagar layouts and surrounding areas by pumping water from the Shimsha river at a cost of Rs 450 crore.

Briefing reporters on the decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting, Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar said water will be pumped from a distance of 65 km under the project. All three phases of Suryanagar layouts and the proposed fourth phase layout will be covered under the project. About two tmc ft of water is required for this purpose, he added.