Lok Sabha Question No. 2686 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-27
Subject: Drinking Water in Rural Areas
Ministry: DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
Asked by: P.R. SUNDARAM, JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2686 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.12.2018

## Drinking Water in Rural Areas

## 2686. SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM, DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN:

Will the Minister of DRINKINGWATER AND SANITATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government has  set  any  target of providing piped  water  supply  in  rural areas in a time bound manner and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has any special scheme/package to achieve this target in this regard and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c)  whether  the  Government is not able to provide piped drinking water to even 50 per cent of all rural households;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor and the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  problem  of  arsenic  and  fluoride  affecting habitation in the country and if so, the quantum of funds released by the Government during the last three years to mitigate the concern of arsenic and fluoride?

## ANSWER

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

(a)&  (b)As  per  restructured  National  Rural  Drinking  Water  Programme  (NRDWP) guideline,  the  focus  of  the  Ministry  is  on  coverage  of  all  rural  households  with  Piped Water  Supply.  As  reported  by  States  on  Integrated  Management  Information  System (IMIS) of the Ministry, 55.14% of rural population has been provided with Piped Water Supply.This  Ministry  has  recently  launched  'Swajal'  programme  in  117  Aspirational districts  identified  by  NITI  (National  Institution  for  Transforming  India)  Aayog.  Swajal has  been  conceived  as  a  community  demand  driven,  single  village,  preferably  Solar Powered  piped  water  supply  schemes  which  will  help  in  increasing  the  outreach  of drinking water in underserved rural areas.

(c)& (d)As reported by States on IMIS, 55.14% of rural population have been provided with  Piped  Water  Supply  and  17.93%  of  rural  household  have  been  provided  with  tap connection. Ministry has taken corrective measures for increasing the coverage of Piped Water Supply in rural  areas  like  restructuring of  NRDWP  to make  it more  competitive, outcome based and result oriented.Ministry has also launched Swajal Programme which will increase the coverage of piped water supply in rural areas.

(e) Yes, Rural drinking water supply is a State subject. For improving the coverage of safe drinking water to rural population, this Ministry supplements the efforts of the States by providing  them  with  technical  and  financial  assistance  through  the  centrally  sponsored scheme National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). It is the State Governments  who  plan,  design,  approve,  execute,  operate  &  maintain  the  schemes  for providing safe drinking water to rural population. The funds provided to the States under NRDWP can be utilized for taking up schemes in water quality affected areas on priority.

To  deal  with  arsenic  and  fluoride  contamination,  with  the  recommendation  of National  Institution  for  Transforming  India  (NITI  Aayog),  Government  of  India  had released  Rs.  1,000  crore  in  March  2016  for  commissioning  of  Community  Water Purification Plants (CWPPs) and last mile connectivity of piped water supply schemes.

In  addition,  the  Ministry  had  launched  National  Water  Quality  Sub-Mission (NWQSM) on 22.03.17 to provide safe drinking water to 27,544 arsenic / fluoride affected rural habitations in a span of 4 years, subject to availability of funds. As on 20.12.2018, Rs. 3690.34 Crore has been released to affected states under NWQSM.