Bharat Nirman: Rural Drinking Water

Bharat Nirman, a programme to build rural infrastructure, was launched by the Government of India in 2005. Rural drinking water is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman. Phase I of the programme was implemented in the period 2005-06 to 2008-09. Phase II is being implemented from 2009-10 to 2011-12.

The strategy adopted under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme to ensure that the rural population gets atleast 40 lpcd  (and  additional 30 lpcd for cattle in DDP areas) of potable water from sources lying within the village or nearby.

Sustainability of drinking water sources and systems has been accorded high priority. To achieve drinking water security at village/ habitation level, conjunctive use of water i.e. judicious use of rainwater, surface water and ground water is promoted.

More than 85% of the sources in rural drinking water supply schemes are ground-water based. Under the NRDWP, chemical contaminants which are sought to be tackled are excess arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity and nitrate.

While prioritizing the addressal of the water quality problem, arsenic and fluoride affected habitations have been accorded priority followed by iron, salinity, nitrate and other contaminants.

To enable the rural community to shoulder responsibility in management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems at village level, decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed approach has been adopted.

Highlights

• Cover approximately 55 thousand uncovered habitations
• Provide safe drinking water to approximately 2.16 lakh villages affected by poor water quality.
• Community-managed approach has been adopted with 100% financial assistance including water testing kits.
• Under Bharat Nirman phase-I and II, 1,20,031 quality affected habitations have been fully covered.