Ministry of Jal Shakti

The Ministy of Jal Shakti is implementing the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure that every rural person has enough safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs.

In order to increase piped water supply coverage in rural India, the Ministry has launched Swajal in all aspirational districts of the country. The aspirational districts have 25% of Piped Water Supply (PWS)' habitations against the national average of 44% habitations. 

About the scheme

Swajal is planned as a mini single village scheme using renewable energy to reach the remote areas which are yet to get the facility of piped water supply.

This mini scheme, to be implemented by fully involving the community at every stage, would benefit about 1048 blocks those are classified as safe blocks from the groundwater development point of view by Central Ground Water Board. 

The scheme challenges the aspirational districts to seek a demand based scheme rather than a routine supply based one. The scheme allows sourcing water both from surface and ground, with more emphasis on latter keeping in view the ease of implementation and management by community. It also emphasizes an overarching third-party governance mechanism for scheme sustainability.

Selection Criteria for a habitation in a Village/Gram Panchayat

Swajal can be taken up in any habitation of a village/Gram Panchayat that satisfies the following criteria:

• Village/GP  located  in  preferably in any of the safe blocks identified by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in case of groundwater based schemes. In case of surface water based schemes, the source of water would be a sustainable surface water source/spring source, as certified by the Water Resources Department of the State.
• preferably a Open Defecation Free (ODF) declared village/GP and Not having any existing Piped Water Supply scheme.
• Habitation having a minimum of 10 households.
• The State can have a saturation approach and can take up all habitations in a GP/Village provided there is no existing Piped Water Supply scheme in all the habitations.

Support

The objective of Swajal is a single village piped water scheme, hence to have a low cost scheme with minimum operation and maintenance cost that would reduce the tariff burden on community, the cost of each Swajal scheme can be up to Rs 50 lakhs. 

The Government of India and the State Government share will be as per the existing NRDWP guidelines applicable to various states. The contribution from Gram Panchayat and communities will be against capital cost of water supply.

• North Eastern States & Himalayan States : 81:09:10 (Centre: State: GP)
• Other States : 45:45:10 (Centre:State: GP)

To access the complete guidelines, click here.

Source : Ministry of Jal Shakti