Lok Sabha Question No. 6349 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-05
Subject: Water Infrastructure in Villages
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: SRIRAM MALYADRI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.6349 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.04.2018

## Water Infrastructure in Villages

## 6349.SHRIMALYADRISRIRAM:

Will the Minister of DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the reasons for giving priority toallocation of piped water supply to thoseGram Panchayats that  achieve  OpenDefecation Free (ODF) status  under theNational  Rural Drinking Water Programme(NRDWP);
- (b) whether  the  Governmentproposes to prioritize those locations forallocation of piped water supply that facewater scarcity instead of considering ODFstatus, as many places which face severewater crisis have been reporting constantslippage from the ODF status or havebeen unable to reach that status in thefirst place;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  details  of  the  measures  takenby  the  Government  towards  addressing  thechallenges faced  in  creating  waterinfrastructure at Gram Panchayat level?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## (SHRI S.S. AHLUWALIA)

- (a) Keeping  the  importance  of  Swachh  Bharat  Mission(Gramin)  in  mind,  this  Ministry  has advised  the  States  to  accord  priority  for  Piped  Water  Supply  in  ODF  declared  villages under  National  Rural  Drinking  Water  Programme  (NRDWP).  This  has  been  done  to achieve ODF status and to prevent the slippage.
- (b) &  (c)In  addition  to  prioritize  ODF  villages,  this  Ministry  has  also  prioritized  the  areas where  there is  problem  of  Arsenic/Fluoride  contamination  or  the same  is  coming underAspirational districts as notified by NITI Aayog, etc.
- (d) Providing  drinking  water  in  rural  areas  is  a  dynamic  process.  The  coverage  of  rural habitations depends  on  many  factors  which  includes  availability of water  sources, availability of funds.This  Ministry has  restructured  National  Rural  Drinking  Water Programme (NRDWP) guideline to make it competitive, outcome based and result oriented. As  per  restructured  NRDWP,  the  focus  of  this  Ministry  is  piped  water  supply  (PWS) schemes.  Further,  this  Ministry  has  directed  States  to  focus  on  completing  the  schemes which are at advanced stage of completion while according priority tothe schemes meant for Arsenic / Fluoride affected habitation, Open  Defecation  Free (ODF)  declared villages,SansadAdarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Gram Panchayats, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) /  Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) districts and Aspirational districts. The states have also been advised to pool more funds for drinking water supply sector out of funds provided to  rural  local  bodies  and  enhanced  devolution  of  funds  from  32%  to  42%  under  14 th Finance Commission. The Ministry intends to focus on coverage of rural population with pipe water supply and household connection ultimately by 2030 to honor the commitment made  by  the  country  in  the  international  forum  while  agreeing  for  UN  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-2030.