# Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was a ministry of the Government of India formed in 2011. From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
In 1999, the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) was formed under Ministry of Rural Development, for focused attention on drinking water and sanitation. Later it was renamed as Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2010. In 2011, it was conferred the Ministry status, keeping in view the extreme importance given to the sector by the United Progressive Alliance government. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was the nodal department for the overall policy, planning, funding and coordination of programmes of drinking water and sanitation in the country.

## Responsibilities

The ministry was responsible for the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in rural India. It got 8 million toilets constructed surpassing the target of 6 million toilets for the year 2015–16.

## Notable decisions

The Ministry has requested various governmental departments to avoid the usage of plastic bottles to provide drinking water during governmental meetings etc., and instead, to make arrangements for providing drinking water that do not result in the generation of plastic waste.

## Cabinet Ministers

* Note: MoS, I/C – Minister of State with Independent Charge
| No. | Portrait | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| No. | Portrait | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | From | To | Period | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| 1 | | | Gurudas Kamat (1954–2018) MP for Mumbai North West (MoS, I/C) | 12 July 2011 | 13 July 2011 | 1 day | Indian National Congress | Manmohan II | | Manmohan Singh |
| 2 | | | Jairam Ramesh (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP for Andhra Pradesh | 13 July 2011 | 28 October 2012 | 1 year, 107 days | Indian National Congress | Manmohan II | | Manmohan Singh |
| 3 | | | Bharatsinh Solanki (born 1953) MP for Anand (MoS, I/C) | 28 October 2012 | 26 May 2014 | 1 year, 210 days | Indian National Congress | Manmohan II | | Manmohan Singh |
| 4 | | | Gopinath Munde (1949–2014) MP for Beed | 27 May 2014 | 3 June 2014 (died in office) | 7 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 5 | | | Nitin Gadkari (born 1957) MP for Nagpur | 4 June 2014 | 9 November 2014 | 158 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 6 | | | Birender Singh (born 1946) Rajya Sabha MP for Haryana | 9 November 2014 | 5 July 2016 | 1 year, 239 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 7 | | | Narendra Singh Tomar (born 1957) MP for Gwalior | 5 July 2016 | 3 September 2017 | 1 year, 60 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 8 | | | Uma Bharti (born 1959) MP for Jhansi | 3 September 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 1 year, 269 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| Ministry disestablished in 2019 |||||||||||
* ↑ The ministry's competences were transferred to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

## Ministers of State

| No. | Portrait | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| No. | Portrait | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency | From | To | Period | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| 1 | | | Upendra Kushwaha (born 1960) MP for Karakat | 26 May 2014 | 9 November 2014 | 167 days | Rashtriya Lok Samta Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 2 | | | Ram Kripal Yadav (born 1957) MP for Pataliputra | 9 November 2014 | 5 July 2016 | 1 year, 239 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 3 | | | Ramesh Jigajinagi (born 1952) MP for Bijapur | 5 July 2016 | 30 May 2019 | 2 years, 329 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| 4 | | | S. S. Ahluwalia (born 1951) MP for Darjeeling | 3 September 2017 | 14 May 2018 | 253 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | | Narendra Modi |
| Ministry disestablished in 2019 |||||||||||