This draft discussion paper by the Department of Drinking Water Supply (Ministry of Rural Development) deals with the preparation of strategic plan for rural drinking water sector in India. The Government of India introduced the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) in 1972–73 to support States and UTs with financial and technical assistance to implement drinking water supply schemes in order to accelerate the pace of coverage across rural India.
The entire programme was given a mission approach when the Technology Mission on Drinking Water Management, called the National Drinking Water Mission (NDWM), was introduced as one of the five Missions in the social sector in 1986. It was renamed as Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM) in 1991 and became the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) in 1999. Rural drinking water supply is a State subject and has been included in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution among the subjects that may be entrusted to Panchayats by the States.
The paper outlines the (i) Vision and the mission of the Department (ii) Core purpose/objectives of the Department as laid down in the Results Framework Document (RFD), National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) Guidelines (iii) Functions of the Department (iv) An assessment of the situation (v) Criteria for State-wise allocation of NRDWP funds (vi) Main principles of NRDWP and changes made in it (vii) Achievements under ARWSP/NRDWP in last five years (viii) Constraints and impacting external factors (ix) System of monitoring and control over the performance of scheme and (x) Findings of last review/ evaluation of the schemes made by the Planning Commission or by any other agency.
The paper outlines the strategy for the future as follows -