Safe Drinking Water to all Rural Habitations by 2022 - Birender Singh

The Government today said that providing safe drinking water facilities to all the rural people of the country is its topmost priority and the mission will be accomplished in the next 8 years. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation Sh Birender Singh said that 17 lakh habitations will be provided with drinking water facilities by 2022. He said, the main goal of the NDA Government is to ensure that every rural Indian will have access to sufficient water for drinking and cooking purposes, besides catering to the demands of the livestock.

The Minister said that 78,000 villages in the country face the serious problem of water contamination like fluoride , arsenic and other heavy metals and the priority of the government is to tackle the menace on war footing. A committee of the Secretaries is also looking into this issue and will soon come out with practical and implementable solutions.

On the concern raised by a Member from Punjab regarding polluted water leading to cancer, the Minister pointed out that State Governments are free to utilise 67 percent of the budget allocated to tackle such problems of contamination. He also added that 10 percent of budget could also be utilized for any exigency including deficient monsoon. Sh Birender Singh also informed the members that in some of the cases, State Governments don’t come forward to take the funds allocated, besides keeping the unspent balance for long.