Lok Sabha Question No. 739 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-02
Subject: Rising Residential Water Demands in Cities
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shashi Tharoor, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Shrirang Appa Barne, Sudheer Gupta, Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Prataprao  Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 739

## TO BE ANSWERED ON DECEMBER 02, 2021

## RISING RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMANDS IN CITIES

NO. 739. DR. SHASHI THAROOR:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

Will  the  Minister  of  HOUSING  AND  URBAN  AFFAIRS  be pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  a  WWF  Report  that estimates 30 Indian cities to be at risk of running out of water by 2050 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has devised a solution and set yearwise targets to handle this alarming situation, if so, the details
- thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  most  Indian  cities  cannot  meet  per  capita  water supply  limit  of  135  liters  per  day  set  by  the  Central  Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) and if so, the details of cities that have relied on external help to meet their water demands during the last five years;
- (d) whether  the  water  shortage  situation  has  aggravated  since the onset  of  the  Covid-19  pandemic  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;

- (e) whether  the  steps have  been  taken  to meet  the  rising residential water demands  due  to increased time spent indoors; and
- (f)
- if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)

(a) and (b): As per a report posted at the website of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Water Risk Filter, which is an online tool to evaluate  severity  of  water  risk  places  face,  estimates  that  100 cities  in  the  world  are  facing  the  greatest  rise  in  water  risks  by 2050.    30  from  India  have  been  identified  as  cities  that  will  face increasing  water  risks  in  the  next  few  decades.    The  URL  of  the page is https://wwf.panda.org/wwf\_news/?1018866/Cities-facealarming-rise-in-water-risks-and-must-urgently-invest-in-greaterresilience.

Water supply is the State subject and it is the responsibility of States and Urban Local Bodies to ensure regular supply of potable water to urban households. However, through its policy and programme  initiatives, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs supplements  the  efforts  of  States  and  ULBs  in  providing  potable water  to  urban  households.    Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), which was launched on June 25, 2015 in 500 selected cities  across  the country, has major focus on development of water supply infrastructure in the selected cities.

One  of  the  main  purposes  of  the  Mission  is  to  ensure  that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water. Out  of  total  approved  plan  size  of  ₹77,640  crore  under  AMRUT, ₹39,010 crore (50%) has been allocated to Water Supply sector only. States/  Union  Territories  (UTs)  have  taken  up  1,345  water  supply projects worth ₹42,206 crore. Of these, 739 projects worth ₹11,511 crore  have  been  completed,  587projects  worth  ₹30,336  crore  are under  implementation  and  19  projects  worth  358  crore  are  under tender.  Overall, works of water supply projects worth ₹30,520 crore (72%) have been physically completed.

So  far,  against  the assessed  gap  of  139  lakh  water  tap connections  to  achieve  universal  coverage,  114  lakh  water  tap connections have been provided in AMRUT cities through AMRUT or in convergence with other schemes.

Further, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) scheme has been launched on 1 st October  2021  with  overall  vision  of  creating  Water  Secure  Cities, providing universal coverage of water in all statutory towns.

(c): Supply  of  135  litre  per  capita  per  day  (lpcd)  water  has  been suggested  as  the  benchmark  for  urban  water  supply.    However, actual  supply  of  water  to  households  in  urban  areas  depends  on availability of water for supply.

(d) to (f): Ministry  of  Housing  and  Urban  Affairs  has  not  come across any report indicating  increase  in  residential  water  demand since  the  onset  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  due  to  increased  time spent indoors by people.

*****