Lok Sabha Question No. 3042 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-11
Subject: Clean Drinking Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: E. T. Mohammed Basheer, P.P. Chaudhary, Shobha Karandlaje

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3042 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.07.2019

## Clean Drinking Water

## 3042. SHRI E.T. MOHAMMED BASHEER, SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY, KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has set any target of providing clean drinking water to all by 2024 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the coverage of clean drinking water is less than 5 per cent in States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha;
- (c) if so, the steps taken for water conservation in view of the widening gap between water supply and demand;
- (d) whether the Government plans to launch a JAN ANDOLAN for water conservation along the lines of the Swachh Bharat Mission to address agricultural, industrial and domestic water issues and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the steps/schemes being implemented for revival of traditional water bodies in the country; and
- (f) whether preference is being given to piped irrigation instead of canal irrigation to conserve water and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FORJAL SHAKTI (SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)

(a) As  announced  in  the  Union  Budget  Speech  2019-20,  it  has  been  envisaged  to ensure piped water supply  to all rural households by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission. This Programme, under the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, will focus on integrated  demand  and  supply  side  management  of  water  at  the  local  level,  including creation of local infrastructure for  source sustainability like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse in agriculture. The Jal Jeevan Mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country. An amount of Rs. 10000.66 crore has been allocated in the current financial year 2019-20 for the Programme.

(b)  Under  National  Rural  Drinking  Water  Programme  (NRDWP),  coverage  of  clean drinking water is maintained in terms of fully covered habitations (i.e. getting more than 40  litre  per  capita  per  day  safe  drinking  water)  and  partially  covered  habitations  (i.e. getting less than 40 litre per capita per day safe drinking water). As reported by States like Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  West  Bengal,  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand  and  Odisha  on  Integrated Management  Information  System  (IMIS),  the  details  of  coverage  in  percentage  is  as under:

|   S.No. | State         | Total No of Habitations   | No of Fully Covered Habitations   |   in % | No of Partially Covered Habitations   |   in% |
|---------|---------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------|---------------------------------------|-------|
|       1 | BIHAR         | 1,10,218                  | 70,982                            |     64 | 35,427                                | 32.14 |
|       2 | CHATTISGARH   | 74,753                    | 72,775                            |     97 | 1,466                                 |  1.96 |
|       3 | JHARKHAND     | 1,20,591                  | 1,19,724                          |     99 | 334                                   |  0.28 |
|       4 | ODISHA        | 1,57,013                  | 1,54,461                          |     98 | 131                                   |  0.08 |
|       5 | UTTAR PRADESH | 2,60,018                  | 2,56,865                          |     99 | 1,950                                 |  0.75 |
|       6 | WEST BENGAL   | 1,07,328                  | 60,217                            |     56 | 32,399                                | 30.19 |

(c) The following measures have been  undertaken for water conservation to tackle gap between water supply and demand:

- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been created in Government of India, integrating the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation  and  Ministry  of  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  with  an  aim  of integrated  water  resources  management  under  one  umbrella  so  that  the  issues relating to water are dealt with in a holistic manner.
- In  order  to  sustain  the  drinking  water  sources,  artificial  recharge  of  groundwater and  rain  water  harvesting  are  being  implemented  under  various  Schemes  of Government  of India i.e. Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana  (PMKSY), Mahatma Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme (MGNREGS), Integrated  Watershed  Management  Programme  (IWMP)  and  Command  Area Development &Water Management (CAD&WM) Programme etc.
- Finance Minister in the Union Budget Speech 2019-20 has announced Jal Jeevan Missionto ensure piped water supplyto all rural households by 2024.
- The Hon'ble PM has written letters   to  all  sarpanches  in  the  country  motivating them to take up water conservation activities like de-silting and cleaning of water bodies, rain water harvesting etc with people participation.

(d) Yes Sir. The Government has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a time-bound, mission-mode water  conservation  campaign.  The  JSA  will  run  in  two  Phases:  Phase  1 from 1st July to 15th September 2019 for all States and Union Territories; and Phase 2 from 1st October to 30th November for States and UTs receiving the retreating monsoon (Andhra  Pradesh,  Karnataka,  Puducherry  and  Tamil  Nadu).  During  the  campaign, officers,  groundwater  experts  and  scientists  from  the  Government  of  India  will  work together with State and district officials in India's most water-stressed districts for water conservation and water resource management by focusing on accelerated implementation of  five  targeted  interventions.  The  JSA  aims  at  making  water  conservation  a  ' Jan Andolan' through asset creation and communication campaign.

(e) Water being a State subject, measures for management of water resources is primarily taken by respective State Governments. Central Government supplements the efforts of the  State  Governments  by  providing  technical  and  financial  assistance  through  various centrally funded programmes.

However, following steps/schemes are being implemented for revival of traditional water bodies in the country:

- Ministry  of  Environment,  Forests  and  Climate Change  (MoEF&CC)  is  currently implementing the scheme National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) for conservation and management of identified lakes and wetlands in the country  on  cost  sharing  basis  between  Central  Government  and  respective  State Governments.
- For more effective conservation and management of wetlands in the country, the Central  Government  has  notified  the  Wetlands  (Conservation  and  Management) Rules, 2017 on 26.09.2017 superseding the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
- Central Government has launched scheme of Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of water bodies under Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchaiYojana (PMKSY). The RRR  of  water bodies Scheme  has multiple objectives like comprehensive improvement and restoration of  water bodies thereby increasing  the  tank  storage capacity,  ground water recharge, improvement  of  catchment areas of tank commands, etc.
- Further,  renovation  of  traditional  water  bodies  is  one  of  the  interventions  being taken up in Jal Shakti Abhiyan in water stressed blocks.

(f)  Under  Pradhan  MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana  (PMKSY)  -HarKhetKoPani,  Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare emphasizes on promoting efficient water conveyance and  field  application  devices  within  the  farm  viz,  underground  piping  system,  Drip  & Sprinklers, pivots and other  application devices  etc.  for  improving on  - farm  water use efficiency to reduce wastage and increase availability.