With the aim to promote water conservation in urban areas, a regional rural bank has launched a loan scheme that links rainwater harvesting with terrace gardening.

Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) now offers its customers loans up to ₹1 lakh to take up rainwater harvesting and terrace gardening in their homes.

S Ravindran, Chairman, KVGB, told BusinessLine that the idea is to conserve water and create awareness about rainwater harvesting in urban areas.

“This scheme is not just to enhance our lending. This is for a social cause,” he said.

The loans can be taken by individuals who have RCC houses in semi-urban and urban areas.

The loan is repayable over five years in 20 quarterly instalments. He said the scheme is being launched ahead of the rainy season so that it would help people either recharge their openwells/borewells or store rainwater in tanks.

Asked what would happen if a beneficiary diverts the loan amount for other purposes, Ravindran said loans will not be released in lump sum. The bank’s manager will ensure that the money released is used for the purpose it is given.

Based on the model of rainwater harvesting project, KVGB will provide loans up to ₹1 lakh, he said, adding that the bank has a good customer base with long-standing relationship. The bank plans to cover 2,000 people in nine districts under its jurisdiction for this loan product. KVGB has a network of 636 branches in Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Vijayapura, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.