New Delhi, Nov 10 : Karnataka will train 18,000 women Self Help Group (SHG) members on solid waste management (SMW) and solar energy utilisation in rural areas to provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to efficiently administer SwacchaSankeerna as a business module and to make the SWM unit self-sustaining, hence providing a source of financial assistance for SHG members. "The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Energy and Development (MGIRED), in collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, the Department of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation, and the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), is conducting this training programme in rural areas," Ministry of Jal Shakti said in a statement issued on Tuesday. These women will be engaged as SwachhaKarmikas by their local Gram Panchayats to carry out solid waste management duties like daily waste collection, waste segregation, Swaccha Vahini driving, and so on. The programme consists of five days of classroom training and exposure trips. "The classroom training that will be offered in all 30 districts this fiscal year would benefit 18,000 rural women, providing them with an alternative source of income. The programme is free of charge and includes travel, boarding, and accommodation for three women from each of the Gram Panchayats in Karnataka. This year, 600 batches will be covered with 30 women in each batch, with each batch costing between Rs 70,000 and Rs 1 lakh," Director ISA, RDWSD Parameswar Hegde was quoted saying. Further, MoUs will be signed with the local GPs for the trained women to be absorbed into the GPLF (Gram Panchayat Level Federation). /IANS