Government launches schemes to provide clean water to rural districts

The government of India has launched Swajal scheme to ensure there is a steady supply of clean drinking water in rural areas. These remote rural areas usually receive contaminated and harsh water which, on consumption, has led to many illnesses.

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched the Swajal scheme in around 115 rural districts in India to provide clean drinking water. It will involve an outlay of Rs 700 crore through flexi funds under existing National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) budget.

What is the Swajal scheme?

This Swajal scheme was launched by the government for sustained water supply in rural areas. 90 per cent of this project is funded by the government and 10 per cent is funded by the beneficiary communities.

The management of this operation is managed by local villagers and hundreds of technicians will be trained under this scheme to maintain and operate the units.

All the villages will get water supplied through fitted pipes. This will ensure that the water is not contaminated. The maintenance of these pipes will be taken care of by the technicians.

Supply of clean water to aspirational districts

The government has chosen 115 rural districts which will receive rapid transformation to match up to government's vision of 'New India'.

The selection criteria of these districts are dependent on six socio-economical parameters, according to Niti Aayog. The parameters are health and nutrition, education, financial inclusion and skill development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure.

35 districts that face Left Wing Extremist (LWE) violence and 15 districts from Jammu and Kashmir which experience terrorism are included in this scheme.

Government aspired to bring technological change in these districts as well and transforming them rapidly to develop the nation further.

Around 2 lakh people die in India every year because of the immense water shortage and 600 million people of this country don't have access to clean drinking water.