The Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry Of Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Bharatsinh Solanki said in a statement in the Parliament that as per India Rural Development Report released in 2013 by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, the per-cent rural houses that do not have access to Drinking Water within premises, Electricity for domestic use and Latrines is at Annexure-1.
However, the Joint Monitoring Programme which monitors the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) already declared that India has achieved the MDG-2015 targets for access to drinking water from improved sources.
The State-wise details of rural drinking water Supply schemes which are taken up for implementation and completed during the period 2010-11 to 2013-14 is atAnnexure II.
The details of release and expenditure of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) for the last three years and current year are at Annexure III.
The details of release and expenditure of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) dealing with rural sanitation for the last three years and current year are at Annexure IV.
The targets set and achievements reported during the last three years and current year under NRDWP for rural drinking water supply is at Annexure-V. It may be seen that the targets are more or less achieved by the States. As regards NBA, it is a demand driven programme, no year-wise State targets are set for achievement in respect of rural sanitation.
However, the achievements reported by the States into the online Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the Ministry during the last three years and the current are at Annexure-VI.
In order to improve the coverage of safe drinking water and sanitation in the rural areas of the country, the Ministry has now adopted a conjoined approach with holistic coverage/ saturation of Gram Panchayats. Necessary technical assistance in terms of Hydro-geo-morphological maps for identification of correct sites for production wells and recharge structures, handbook on drinking water treatment technologies, Uniform drinking water quality monitoring protocol have been made available to the States to improve performance of rural drinking water supply schemes.
In order to improve rural sanitation coverage, convergence of schemes administered by associated Ministries including Rural Development, Health, School Education, Women and Child Development are focused upon.
In addition, measures for improvement in rural sanitation is also emphasized with provision of incentives for the construction of Individual household latrines (IHHL) extended to identified Above Poverty Line (APL) households (all SCs /STs, small and marginal farmers, landless labourers with homestead, physically handicapped and women-headed households).
Recasting the component of Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) under NBA to a project mode approach in convergence with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has also been provided for improving environmental sanitation in rural areas.