RAJYA SABHA
URBAN DROUGHT POLICY OF THE COUNTRY
NO. 2624. SHRI SANJAY SINGH
Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether there has been no urban drought policy in the country resulting States face massive water shortages and inequity, especially in urban poor areas and the current drought policy only includes deficits and impacts on agricultural production, loss of rural livelihoods, food, and water insecurity;
(b) if so, details thereof and if not, reasons for not having such policy;
(c) whether in water-scarce areas in country, people receive less than 35 litres per person per day which is significantly lower as compared to the standards of 135L per person per day suggested by Ministry; and
(d) steps taken for the same?
(SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has formulated Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL) of Delhi, 2016; Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016 circulated for all the States / Union Territories (UTs) and Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014for adoptionsuiting their local conditions.Adequate focus has been given in these model bye laws /guidelines on the requirement of rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures. MBBL has indicative provisions for water harvesting in various types of buildings along with responsibility of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for rainwater harvesting in public spaces and provisions for enforcement and monitoring. As per MBBL, “all buildings having a plot size of 100 square meter or more, while submitting the building plans for sanction, shall mandatorily include the complete proposal of rainwater harvesting”. This feature has been adopted by 33 States/ UTs.
National Water Policy (2012)formulated by Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, advocates inter-alia rain water harvesting and conservation of water. It highlights the need for augmenting the availability of water through direct use of rainfall. It also advocates conservation of river bodies and prevention of encroachment and diversion of water bodies and drainage channels.
Ministry of Jal Shakti has circulated a Model Bill to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable ground water legislation for regulation of its development, which also includes provision of RWH. So far, 19 States/ Union Territories (UTs) have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation.
(c) & (d): 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 house holds in urban areas depends on availability of water for supply.
Water supply is a State subject and it is the responsibility of States and ULBs to ensure adequate water supply to the households. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs supplements the efforts of States /UTs through its flagship schemes, such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
AMRUT was launched by the Government of India on June 25, 2015 in selected 500 cities and towns across the country. It focuses on development of basic infrastructure in the Mission cities in the sectors of water supply, sewerage & septage management, storm water drainage, green spaces and parks, non-motorized urban transport. Under AMRUT, out of the total plan size of ₹77, 640 crore, ₹39,010 crore (50%) has been allocated to water supply only.
So far, against the assessed gap of 139 lakh water tap connections, around 107 lakh connections have been provided under AMRUT or in convergence with other schemes. Further, 106 water bodies with an area of 108 acre have been taken up for rejuvenation under AMRUT.