Lok Sabha Question No. 5432 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-06
Subject: New Rural Piped Water Supply Scheme
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: KAMALBHAN SINGH MARABI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5432 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2017

## New Rural Piped Water Supply Scheme

## †5432. SHRI KAMALBHAN SINGH MARABI:

Will the Minister  ofDRINKING WATER AND SANITATIONbe pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken a decision to approve the New Rural Piped Supply scheme during this financial year only for the villages identified under the  Saansad  Adarsh  Gram  Yojana  and  the  villages  affected  from  fluoride, arsenic and heavy metals under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has fixed a target for providing piped water supply to 50% rural households by the end of 2017 and to 90% rural households by the year 2020 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it would not be possible for the Government to achieve this target in the absence of approval of the said scheme in State of Chhattisgarh and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether any proposal has been received for providing special status to the State of Chhattisgarh; and
- (e)  if  so,  whether  any  relaxation  is  proposed  to  be  provided  to  Chhattisgarh  in regard to the approval of the scheme and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION (SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

- (a)  The  focus  of  the  Ministry  currently  is  early  completion  of  all  ongoing  rural drinking  water  supply  scheme  so  that  more  rural  population  is  provided  with safe  drinking  water  supply.  As  such,  the  Ministry  has  directed  all  the  State Governments not  to  take  up  new  schemes  till  the  completion  of  all  ongoing schemes with some exceptions like for coverage of Arsenic / Fluoride affected habitations and Piped Water Supply Schemes for Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

(SAGY) Gram Panchayats (GPs) / schemes for Verified Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages

Further,  this  Ministry  has  instructed  the  States  to  use  the  release  from  the Ministry to complete the schemes which are at advanced stages of completion in the following order:

- o 100 % physically completed but financially incomplete
- o More than 75 % but less than 100 % physically complete
- o More than 50 % but less than 75 % physically complete
- o More than 25 % but less than 50 % physically complete

For the schemes which are less than 25 % completed, State needs to complete them from their own budget.

Once the schemes are completed in said order as  above,  then  the  States  can take up new scheme under NRDWP.

(b) The Ministry under its Strategic Plan for the period 2011-2022, which stresses on extending the piped water supply to more households in the rural areas of the country under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), a target of coverage of 90% of rural households has been fixed at by 2022 with an interim target  of  50%  by  2017.  As  per  information  entered  by  States  on  the  Integrated Management  Information  System  (IMIS)  of  this  Ministry,  as  on  30.03.2017, 53.80% of rural population have been covered with Piped Water Supply.

(c)  This  Ministry  has  directed  States  including  Chhattisgarh  to  first  complete ongoing schemes. However, they make take new schemes for cases like Arsenic / Fluoride  affected habitations,  Sansad  Adarsh  Gram Yojana  (SAGY) villages  and Verified Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages. And once a State has left with no ongoing schemes, then they can undertake new schemes for other cases as well.

- (d) & (e) No proposal from the State Government of Chhattisgarh seeking special status has been received in this Ministry. Moreover, under NRDWP, there is no such provision of granting special status to any State.