RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMMES

8/7/2019 RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMMES

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rural-water-supply-programmes 1/20

RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMMES

Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz

Rural Water Supply Programme

Clean drinking water is a basic necessity of life. Supply of clean drinking water in the rural areashas always been one of the highest priorities of the government. A Technology Mission on

drinking water named "National Drinking Water Mission" (NDWM) was launched in 1986,which subsequently was rechristened as "Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission

(RGNDWM) - File referring to external site opens in a new window" in 1991 with three keyobjectives:

i. Providing safe drinking water to all villages,

ii. Assisting local communities to maintain sources of safe drinking water in good condition,and

iii. Giving special attention for water supply to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

To achieve the objectives, Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) is being

implemented to resolve the drinking water problem in rural habitations. The Central Governmentsupplements the efforts of the states by providing financial and technical support. The Tenth Plan

emphasizes participatory approach where PRIs should be the key institutions for convergence of drinking water supply programmes at the ground level. The strategy to achieve the Tenth Plan

objectives can be briefly summarised as:

a. Accelerating coverage of the remaining Not Covered and Partially Covered habitations

including those slipped back from fully covered to partially and not covered categories,

with safe drinking water systems.b. To tackle problems of water quality in affected habitations and to institutionalize water

quality monitoring and surveillance systems.c. To promote sustainability, both of systems and sources, to ensure continued supply of

safe drinking water in covered habitations

Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) aims at achieving this objective.Considerable success has been achieved in meeting the drinking water needs of the rural

population through the said scheme. There are more than 4 million hand pumps and 2 lakh pipedwater schemes in the rural areas.

The ARWSP was launched during 1972-73. It is currently being implemented through the Rajiv

Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission. The scheme aims at coverage of all rural habitationswith population of 100 and above, specially the un-reached ones, ensure sustainability of thesystems and sources, tackle the problem of water quality and institutionalise water quality

monitoring and surveillance through a Catchment Area Approach.As on 1 April 2005, 96.13 per cent of rural habitations have been Fully Covered (FC) with

drinking water facilities and 3.55 per cent are Partially Covered (PC) and 0.32 per cent is NotCovered (NC) with drinking water facilities. There are slippages of FC into NC or PC due to

various factors such as lowering of ground water table, systems outliving their lives, increase in



population, etc.Drinking water supply is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman, which has been envisaged

to build strong rural infrastructure in four years (2005-06 to 2008-09). The task ahead is to cover all the remaining uncovered habitations and also to cover the slipped back as well as the water

quality affected ones. Action Plans from State/UT Governments for achieving the goals of

Bharat Nirman in a time bound manner have been obtained.For ensuring sustainability of the systems, steps were initiated in 1999 to institutionalisecommunity participation in the implementation of rural drinking water supply schemes by

incorporating the following three basic principles:

i. Adoption of a demand-driven responsive and adaptable approach based on empowerment

of villagers to ensure their full participation in the project through a decision making role

in the choice of scheme design, control of finances and management arrangements.ii. Increasing role of government for empowering user groups/gram panchayats for

sustainable management of drinking water assets and integrated water management andconservation.

iii. P

artial capital cost sharing either in cash or kind or both and 100 per cent responsibilityof Operation and Maintenance by end-users.

Sector Reforms Projects, based on the above principles were sanctioned in 67 districts on pilot

basis. With the experience gained from these pilot projects, reform process has been scaled up inthe entire country through Swajaldhara launched on 25 December 2002. A notable feature of

Swajaldhara is involvement of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs) in planning, implementation, operation and maintenance. This would in turn

ensure sustainability of the system. 10 per cent contribution is made by the community and 90per cent funds are provided by the Central government. In case of SC and ST habitations,

community contribution can be in the form of cash, kind, labour or land or a combination of these.

Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM) adopts an integrated approach sothat conservation and augmentation of water sources is interrelated with rural water supply

schemes to provide sustainable supply of safe drinking water to the rural population. TheMission seeks to provide supply of 40 liters of safe drinking water in rural areas.

An initiative has been taken by Government of India in February 2006 by launching the NationalRural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme which envisages

institutionalisation of community participation for monitoring and surveillance of drinking water sources at the grass-root level by Gram Panchayats and Village Water and Sanitation

Committees, followed by checking the positively tested samples at the district and State levellaboratories.Another initiative taken by the Government is that from 2006-07 onwards focused funding to

tackle drinking water has been started. Up to 20 per cent of ARWSP funds are to be earmarkedseparately for tackling water quality problems. For 2006-07, 20 per cent of ARWSP funds have

been allocated for funding under water quality.

Central Rural Sanitation Programme



Rural Sanitation is a State subject. The efforts of the states are supplemented by the CentralGovernment through technical and financial assistance under the Central Rural Sanitation

Programme (CRSP) - File referring to external site opens in a new window .The Programme was launched in 1986 with the objectives of improving the quality of life of

rural people and providing privacy and dignity to women. The concept of sanitation was

expanded in 1993 to include personal hygiene, home sanitation, sage water and disposal of garbage, human excreta and wastewater. The components of the programme includedconstruction of individual sanitary toilets for household below poverty-line (BPL), conversion of

dry latrines to water-pour flush toilets, construction of village sanitary complexes for women,setting up of sanitary marts and production centres, intensive campaign for creating awareness

and health education, etc.Keeping in view the experiences of the Central and state governments, NGOs and other

implementing agencies and the recommendations of the Second National Seminar on RuralSanitation, the strategy for the Ninth Five Year Plan was revised and the programme was

restructured form 1 April 1999. The restructured programme moves away form the principle of state-wise allocation of funds, primarily based on poverty criteria, to a demand driven approach

in a phased manner. Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was introduced and the Allocation BasedProgramme was phased out by 31 March 2002. TSC is community-led and people-centred. There

was a shift from a high subsidy to a low subsidy regime. The TSC approach emphasizedawareness-building component and meets the demand through alternate delivery mechanism.

School Sanitation has been introduced as a major component to encourage wider acceptance of sanitation among rural masses. The States/UTs are required to formulate project proposals under

the TSC in order to claim Central government assistance.Under the TSC, so far 559 projects in 30 States/UTs have been sanctioned with the total project

outlay of about Rs.6240.27 crore. The Central, State and Beneficiary/Panchayat contributions areabout Rs.3675.38 crore, Rs.1424.09 crore and Rs.1140.80 crore respectively. The components

sanctioned in the 559 projects are

a. Construction of 499 lakh individual household latrines

b. 656690 toilets for Schools

c. 36098 Community Sanitary Complexesd. 199033 toilets for Balwadis/Anganwadis and

e. 4030 Rural Sanitary Marts/Production Centres.

Besides, funds have been earmarked for start-up activities, Information, Education andCommunication (IEC) and Administrative charges. The total numbers of household toilets

constructed up to 2005-06 are 14,48,1807.To add vigour to the implementation of TSC Government of India has separately launched anaward scheme 'Nirmal Gram Puraskar'(NGP) for fully sanitised and open defecation free Gram

Panchayats, block and districts. In the first year of its institution only 40 PRIs were awardedNGP on 24 February 2005. In the second year the number of awarded PRIs/Blocks and

organisation have increased to 772. His Excellency, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India,distributed the Awards on 23 March 2006.

Monitoring and Evaluation



The Ministry of Rural Development lays great emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of allrural development programmes in general and poverty alleviation and employment generation

schemes in particular, being implemented in various States/UTs.It is well recognised that thesuccess of the programmes largely depends on the effective delivery system and efficient

implementation at the grass-roots level so that the programme benefits reach the rural poor in full

measures. In order to ensure this, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level andmulti tool system of Monitoring and Evaluation for the implementation of its programmes. TheMonitoring mechanism includes, inter-alia, the Performance Review Committee, Review

meetings by the Minister of Rural Development and Ministers of State with the Chief Ministers/Ministers of Rural development and Officers of the States, the Area Officer Scheme, periodic

progress reports, audit and utilisation certificates, video conferencing and field visits. TheMinistry conducts quick evaluation/concurrent evaluation of all major programmes. Impact

assessment studies to asses the overall impact of programmes of village-level is also conductedin selected district. The Vigilance and Monitoring Committees at State and District Levels in all

States/UTs monitor the implementation of Programmes and introduce greater transparency in theprocess. These Committees inter-alia include MPs/ MLAs representatives of Panchayti Raj

Institutions and NGOs. The Members of P

arliament bothL

ok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have beenassigned a Central role in the reconstituted V&M Committees and they have been nominated

Chairman/Co-Chairman of the district level V&M Committees.The Ministry has also taken initiatives to strengthen the monitoring mechanism and quality of

implementation of programmes by introducing District Level Monitoring (DLM) System in 130district of 27 States through external agencies which include monthly reporting of physical and

financial performance, qualitative reporting about policy and implementation environments inthe district and physical verification of the assets crated under various programmes of the

Ministry. Similarly DLM of Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and Swajaldhara is implementedin 398 districts of the country w.e.f. 1 July 2005 This system aims at providing continuous,

transparent and accountable monitoring inputs in reporting format with the objectives of reporting of the process and progress of the programmes covering different components of the

programmes. It also aims at identification of gaps in the implementation at the village, block,district and state level. The monitoring system also elicits the stakeholders' views; assesses the

institutional issues and document case studies and success stories on best practices, innovationsand lesson learned.

In order to strengthen the monitoring mechanism, the Ministry has a panel of about 300 NationalLevel Monitors comprising retired servicemen and Retired Civil Servants to monitor and furnish

periodic reports to the Ministry on the implementation of programmes in selected districtsincluding verifying facts of the cases and complaints if any, which may be referred to them.

The Union Government in recent years has given emphasis to e-governance in all possible areas.Accordingly, the Ministry of Rural Development has also initiated action with the state

Governments and UTs to ensure that information and progress reports completed by DistrictsRural Development Agencies (DRDAs) are sent through the electronic medium. About 400

(DRDAs) have started sending their reports through online. Efforts are being made in thisdirection to obtain online progress reports from all the remaining DRDAs.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act



Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development - External website that opens in a newwindow, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) - External website that opens in

a new window is the flagship programme of the Government that directly touches lives of thepoor and promotes inclusive growth. The Act aims at enhancing livelihood security of

households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed

wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to dounskilled manual work.The Act came into force on February 2, 2006 and was implemented in a phased manner. In Phase

one it was introduced in 200 of the most backward districts of the country. It was implemented inan additional 130 districts in Phase two 2007-2008. As per the initial target, NREGA was to be

expanded countrywide in five years. However, in order to bring the whole nation under its safetynet and keeping in view the demand, the Scheme was extended to the remaining 274 rural

districts of India from April 1, 2008 in Phase III.National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) - External website that opens in a new

window is the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment at anunprecedented scale. The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. Its

auxiliary objective is strengthening natural resource management through works that addresscauses of chronic poverty like drought, deforestation and soil erosion and so encourage

sustainable development. The process outcomes include strengthening grassroots processes of democracy and infusing transparency and accountability in governance.

With its rights-based framework and demand driven approach, National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act (NREGA) - External website that opens in a new window marks a paradigm shift

from the previous wage programmes. The Act is also a significant vehicle for strengtheningdecentralization and deepening processes of democracy by giving a pivotal role to the Panchayati

Raj Institutions in planning, monitoring and implementation. Unique features of the ACTinclude, time bound employment guarantee and wage payment within 15 days, incentive-

disincentive structure to the State Governments for providing employment as 90 per cent of thecost for employment provided is borne by the Centre or payment of unemployment allowance at

their own cost and emphasis on labour intensive works prohibiting the use of contractors andmachinery. The Act also mandates 33 percent participation for women. Over the last two years,

implementation trends vindicate the basic objective of the Act.Increasing Employment Opportunities: In 2007-08, 3.39 crore households were provided

employment and 143.5 crore person days were generated in 330 districts. In 2008-2009, uptoJuly, 253 crore households have been provided employment and 85.29 crore person days have

been generated.Enhancing Wage Earning and Impact on Minimum Wage: The enhanced wage earnings have

lead to strengthening of the livelihood resource base of the rural poor in India; in 2007-2008,more than 68% of funds utilised were in the form of wages paid to the labourers. In 2008-2009,

73% of the funds have been utilized in the form of wages.Increasing Outreach to the poor: Self targeting in nature, the Programme has high works

participation of marginalized groups like SC/ST (57%), women (43%) in 2007-2008. In 2008-2009, upto July, the participation is SC/ST (54%) and women (49%), strengthening Natural

Resource Base of Rural India: In 2007-08, 17.88 lakh works have been undertaken, of which49% were related to water conservation. In 2008-2009, upto July, 16.88 lakh works have been

undertaken, of which 49% are related to water conservation.Financial Inclusion of the poor: The Central government has been encouraging the state



governments to make wage payment through bank and post office accounts of wage seekers.Thus far, 2.9 crore (upto July '08) NREGA bank and post office accounts have been opened to

disburse wages. The Ministry is also encouraging the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(NREGA) - External website that opens in a new window workers to obtain insurance under Jan

Shri Bima Yojana.

Initial evidence through independent studies indicates enhancement of agricultural productivity(through water harvesting, check dams, ground water recharging, improve moisture content,check in soil erosion and micro-irrigation), stemming of distress migration, increased access to

markets and services through rural connectivity works, supplementing household incomes,Increase in women workforce participation ratios and the regeneration of natural resources.

The vision of the Ministry is enabling NREGA become a transformative vehicle of empoweringlocal communities to enhance their livelihood security. The Ministry has taken several steps to

ensure the Scheme is implemented effectively like encouraging decentralized participatorymanagement, improving delivery systems and public accountability.

The Rozgar Jagrookta Puruskar award has been introduced to recognize outstandingContributions by Civil society Organizations at State, District, Block and Gram Panchayat levels

to generate awareness about provisions and entitlements and ensuring compliance withimplementing processes.

Building Capacity to implement a demand driven scheme To strengthen the capacity and give priority to the competencies required for effective planning,

work execution, public disclosure and social audits the Ministry has been conducting training for NREGA functionaries, Thus far, 6.2 lakh PRI functionaries and 4.82 lakh vigilance and

monitoring committees have been trained (upto July'08). The Central Government is alsoproviding technical support in key areas of communication, training, work planning, IT, social

audits and fund management at all levels of implementation to the state governments.

Using IT for reaching out and inclusion Web enabled Management Information System (MIS) is one of the largest data base ruralhouseholds through their engagement in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) -

External website that opens in a new window. MIS places all critical parameters such as shelf of projects, sanctioned works, wage payments, number of days of employment provided and works

under execution on line for easy public access. The data engineered software has been designedfor cross verification of records and generation of alerts to support proactive response by

management.

Evolving processes for transparency and public accountability Monitoring and Evaluation: The Ministry has set up a comprehensive monitoring system. Thisyear, 260 National Level Monitors and Area Officers have undertaken field visits to each of the

330 Phase I and Phase II districts at least once.For effective monitoring of the projects 100% verification of the works at the Block level, 10%

at the District level and 2% at the State level inspections need to be ensured.

Road Map for Further Strengthening of NREGA Setting up of the Task force on Convergence: In order to optimize the multiplier effects of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) - External website that opens in a new

window, the Ministry has set up a Task Force to look at the possibility of convergence of programmes like National Horticulture Mission, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Bharat Nirman,

Watershed Development with NREGA. These convergence efforts will add value to NREGA,



works and aid in creating durable efforts and also enable planned and coordinated publicinvestments in rural areas.

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna

The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) (File referring to external site opens in a new

window) was launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging the on-going schemes of EAS and theJGSY with the objective of providing additional wage employment and food security, alongside

creation of durable community assets in rural areas. The programme is self-targeting in naturewith provisions for special emphasis on women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and parents

of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. While preference is given to BPL familiesfor providing wage employment under SGRY, poor families above the poverty line can also be

offered employment whenever NREGA has been launched.The annual outlay for the programme is Rs.10,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tonnes on food

grains. The cash component is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25.Food grains are provided free of cost to the States/UTs. The payment of food grains is made

directly to FCI at economic cost by the Centre. However, State Governments are responsible for the cost of transportation of food grains from FCI godown to work-site/PDS shops and its

distribution. Minimum wages are paid to the workers through a mix of minimum five kg of foodgrains and at least 25 per cent of wages in cash.

The programme is implemented by all the three tiers of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Each level of Panchayat is an independent unit for formulation of Action Plan and executing the scheme.

Resources are distributed among District Panchayat, Intermediate Panchayats and the GramPanchayats in the ratio of 20:30:50.

The Gram Panchayats can take up any work with the approval of the gram sabha as per their felt

need and within available funds. Fifty per cent of the funds earmarked for the gram panchayatsare to be utilised for infrastructure development works in SC/ST localities. 22.5 per centresources must be spent on individual beneficiary schemes meant for SCs/STs out of the resource

share of District Panchayat and Intermediate Panchayats. Contractors are not permitted to beengaged for execution of any of the works and no middlemen/intermediate agencies can be

engaged for executing works under the scheme. The programme is regularly monitored. Theprogramme is being evaluated through impact studies conducted by reputed institutions and

organisations sponsored by the Central/State governments.

National Food for Work Programme

The National Food for Work Programme (External website that opens in a new window) waslaunched in November, 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country, identified by the

Planning Commission in consultation with the Ministry of Rural Development and the Stategovernments.

The objective of the programme was to provide additional resources apart from the resourcesavailable under the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) (File referring to external site



opens in a new window) to 150 most backward districts of the country so that generation of supplementary wage employment and providing of food-security through creation of need based

economic, social and community assets in these districts are further intensified. The scheme was100 per cent centrally sponsored. The programme has since been subsumed in National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (External website that opens in a new window) which has come in

force in 200 identified districts of the country including 150 NFFWP

districts. The Act provides100 days of work guarantee to every rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilledmanual work.

Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna

The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) (External website that opens in a new

window) was launched as an integrated programme for self-employment of the rural poor witheffect from 1 April 1999. The objective of the scheme is to bring the assisted poor families above

the poverty line by organising them into Self Help Groups (SHGs) through the process of socialmobilisation, their training and capacity building and provision of income generating assets

through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy. The scheme emphasizes establishment of activity clusters through selection of key activities based on aptitude and skill of the people,

availability of resources and market potentiality. The scheme adopts a process approach andattempts to build the capacities of the rural poor. It provides for involvement of

NGOs/CBOs/Individuals/Banks and Self Help Promoting Institutions in nurturing anddevelopment of SHGs, including skill development. The scheme provides for the cost of social

intermediation and skill development training based on the local requirement. Flexibility hasbeen given to the DRDAs/States in the utilisation of funds for training, sanction of Revolving

Fund, subsidy for economic activity based on the stage of development of groups.

The focus of the programme is on establishing a large number of micro-enterprises in rural areasbased on the ability of the poor and potential of each area, both land-based and otherwise, for sustainable income generation. Due emphasis is being laid on different components such as

capacity building of the poor, skill development training, credit, training, technology transfer,marketing and infrastructure. The subsidy allowed under the SGSY is 30 per cent of the total

project cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs.7,500 (for SC/STs and disabled persons subsidy limit is 50per cent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.10,000). For Self-Help Groups (SHGs),

subsidy would be 50 per cent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.1.25 lakh or per capitasubsidy of Rs.10,000, whichever is less. There is no monetary ceiling on subsidy for minor

irrigation projects for SHGs as well as individual swarozgaris. The SGSY has a special focus onthe vulnerable groups among the rural poor. SC/STs account for at least 50 per cent, women 40

per cent and the persons with physical disability constitute 3 per cent of the Swarozgariesrespectively. The SGSY seeks to promote multiple credits rather than a one-time credit injection.

The SHGs may consist of 10-20 members and in case of minor irrigation, and in case of disabledpersons and difficult areas, i.e., hilly, desert and sparsely populated areas; this number may be a

minimum of five. Self Help Groups should also be drawn from the BPL list approved by theGram Sabha. The SHGs broadly go through three stages of evolution such as group formation,

capital formation through the revolving fund and skill development and taking up of economicactivity for income generation.



Selection could be made up to 10 key activities per block based on local resources, occupationalskills of the people and availability of market so that the Swarozgaris can draw suitable incomes

from their investment. Under SGSY each block should concentrate on 4-5 selected key activitiesand attend to all aspects of these activities in a cluster approach, so that swarozgaris can draw

sustainable income from their investments. The scheme lays special emphasis on development of

swarozgaris through well designed training courses tailored to the activities selected and therequirement of each swarozgari. SGSY is being implemented through the District RuralDevelopment Agencies (DRDAs) (External website that opens in a new window), with active

involvement of panchayati raj institutions, banks and NGOs. It is financed on 75:25 cost-sharingbasis between the Centre and the states.

Since the inception of the programme 22.52 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have been formedcovering 66.97 lakh swarozgaris. These include 35.54 lakhs members of the SHGs and 31.43

lakh individual Swarozgaris who have been assisted with a total investment of Rs.14403.73crore. Out of total Swarozgaris assisted, SCs/STs were 45.54 per cent and women 47.85 per cent.

During 2006-2007 the Central allocation for the scheme isRs.1200 crore.

Bharat Nirman

Bharat Nirman is a time-bound business plan for action in rural infrastructure. Under BharatNirman, action is proposed in the areas of irrigation, rural housing, rural water supply, rural

electrification and rural telecommunication connectivity.

Rural Roads

To upgrade rural infrastructure, the Government has formulated a proposal for providing the road

connections to more than 38,484 villages above 1000 population and all 20,867 habitationsabove 500 populations in hilly and tribal areas.

To achieve the targets of Bharat Nirman, 1,46,185 kms. of road length is proposed to beconstructed by 2009. This will benefit 66,802 unconnected eligible habitations in the country. To

ensure full farm to market connectivity, it is also proposed to upgrade 1,94,132 kms. of theexisting Associated Through Routes. A sum of approximately Rs.48,000 crore is proposed to be

invested to achieve this.The main thrust of research and development (R&D) in the roads sector is to build a sustainable

road infrastructure comparable to the best roads in the world. The various components of thisstrategy are improvement in design, modernization of construction techniques, introduction of

improved material conforming to latest trends, evolving better and appropriate specifications,

encouraging development and use of new technologies etc. The dissemination of these matters isdone through the publication of new guidelines, code of practices, instructions/circulars,compilation of state-of-the-art reports and seminars/presentations etc. The research schemes

sponsored by the Department are generally 'applied' in nature, which, once completed, wouldenable them to be adopted by user agencies/departments in their work in the field. The areas

covered are roads, road transport, bridges, traffic and transportation techniques etc. TheDepartment takes the help of various research institutions, academic institutions and universities



to implement the schemes. An outlay of Rs.600.00 lakhs has been provided for R&D in 2007-08.Some of the ongoing major schemes are as follows:

y Roads:

o Development of GIS based National Highways information system;o

Guidelines for soil nailing techniques in highway engineering;o Pilot study on effect of overloading on road infrastructure;o Investigation on field performance of bituminous mixes with modified binders;

o R&D Studies on performance evaluation of rigid pavements on high densitytraffic corridors using instrumentation supported by laboratory tests.

In addition to the above, the proposal of IIT, Roorkee for establishment of the Ministry's

Chair in it in the area of development of Highway System has also been sanctioned.

y Bridges:

o Creation of complete range of independent testing facility at Central Road

Research Institute (CRRI ), New Delhi.

Rural Housing

Housing is one of basic requirements for human survival. For a shelterless person, possession of a house brings about a profound social change in his existence, endowing him with an identity,

thus integrating him with his immediate social milieu.The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) with a view to

providing financial assistance to the rural poor living below poverty line for construction of pucca house. The details of the scheme along with its performance are given below:

Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

The Government of India is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) since the year 1985-86 toprovide financial assistance for construction / upgradation of dwelling units to the below poverty

line (BPL) rural households belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes and freedbonded labourers categories. From the year 1993-94, the scope of the scheme was extended to

cover non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rural BPL poor, subject to the condition thatthe benefits to non-SC/ST would not be more than 40% of the total IAY allocation. The benefits

of the Scheme have also been extended to the families of ex-servicemen of the armed andparamilitary forces killed in action, 3% of the Houses are reserved for the rural Below Poverty

Line physically and mentally challenged persons, from 2006-07 onward, funds and physicaltargets under IAY are also being earmarked for BPL minorities in each state.

Under the scheme, financial resources are shared between the centre and the states on a 75:25basis. Since, reduction of shelterlessness is the primary objective, 75% weightage is given to

housing shortage and 25% to the poverty ratios prescribed by Planning Commission for statelevel allocation. For district level allocation, 75% weightage is given again to housing shortage

and 25% to SC/ST population of the concerned districts.On the basis of allocations made and targets fixed, district Rural development Agency



(DRDAs)/Zilla Parishada (ZPs) decide Panchayat-wise number of houses to be constructedunder IAY and intimate the same to the concerned Gram Panchayat. Thereafter, the Gram Sabha

selects the beneficiaries, restricting its number to the target allotted, from the list of eligiblehouseholds from the Permanent IAY Waitlists. No further approval of the higher authority is

required.

The ceiling on construction assistance under the IAY has been enhanced w.e.f. 1.4.2008, Rs.25,000/- to Rs.35,000/- per unit in the plain areas and from Rs.27,500/- to Rs.38,500/- inhilly/difficult areas. For upgradation of kutcha house, the financial assistance has also been

enhanced from Rs.12,500/- to Rs.15,000/- per unit. In addition, The Reserve Bank of India hasbeen requested by the Ministry of Finance to include IAY houses under the Differential Rate of

Interest (DRI) scheme for lending upto Rs.20,000 per unit at an interest rate of 4%.Further, the dwelling units should invariably be allotted in the name of a female member of the

beneficiary household. Alternatively, it can be allotted in the name of both husband and wife.Only in case there is no eligible female member in the family, the house can be allotted in the

name of an eligible male member.The Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah and proper drainage are required for each IAY house.

L

atrine could be constructed separate for the IAY house on the site of beneficiary.The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary. Engagement of

contractors is strictly prohibited.No specific type design has been stipulated for an IAY house. Choice of design, technology and

materials for construction of an IAY house is the sole discretion of the beneficiaries.About 181.51 lakh houses have been constructed under IAY since inception of the Scheme with

an expenditure of Rs.36900.41 crores (upto 31/5/2008).

Performance during the year 2007-08

During 2007-08, the Central allocation for Rural Houseing was Rs.40,322.70 crore. The target

for construction/upgradation of IAY houses was 21.27 lakh. Against this target, 19.88 lakhhouses were constructed/upgraded by incurring an amount of Rs.5,458.01 crores (including State

share).

Performance during the year 2008-09

The Central allocation for 2008-09 under the IAY is Rs.5,645.77 crore for the target of

constructing/upgrading 21.27 lakh IAY houses. Out of this, an amount of Rs.1,694.48 crore hasbeen released as part of first instalment and 85,879 houses have been constructed so far, (upto

31/5/2008).

Irrigation

Under the Irrigation Component of Bharat Nirman, the target of creation of additional irrigation

potential of 1 crore hectare in 4 years (2005-06 to 2008-09) is planned to be met largely throughexpeditious completion of identified ongoing major and medium irrigation projects. Irrigation

potential of 42 lakh hectare is planned to be created by expeditiously completing such ongoingmajor and medium projects.



There is a definite gap between irrigation potential created and the potential utilized. Under Bharat Nirman it is planned to restore and utilize irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare through

implementation of extension, renovation and modernization of schemes alongwith commandarea development and water management practices.

There are considerable areas in the country with unutilised ground water resources. Irrigation

potential of 28 lakh hectare is planned to be created through ground water development.The remaining target for creation of irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare is planned to becreated by way of minor irrigation schemes using surface flow.

10 lakh hectare of irrigation potential is also planned by way of repair, renovation and restorationof water bodies and extension, renovation and modernization of minor irrigation schemes.

Telephone Connections

Telecom connectivity constitutes an important part of the effort to upgrade the ruralinfrastructure. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, it will be ensured that 66,822 revenue

villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone

(VPT), shall be covered. Out of the above villages, connectivity in 14,183 remote and far flungvillages will be provided through digital satellite phone terminals. Assistance for both capital aswell as operational expenditure for these VPTs will be met out of the Universal Services

Obligation Fund (USOF).

Rural Water Supply

To build rural infrastructure, Bharat Nirman has been launched by the Government of India in

2005 to be implemented in a period of four years from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Rural drinking water is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman. During Bharat Nirman period, 55,067 un-

covered and about 3.31 lakh slipped-back habitations are to be covered with provisions of drinking water facilities and 2.17 lakh quality-affected habitations are to be addressed for water

quality problem.While prioritising 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 ensure that habitations once provided with drinking water supply infrastructure

do not slip back and face drinking water problem, sustainability of drinking water sources andsystems 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 ispromoted.

To enable the rural community shoulder the responsibility in management, operation andmaintenance of water supply systems at village level, decentralized, demand-driven, community-

managed approach in the form of Swajaldhara have been adopted. To further strengthencommunity participation in the drinking water sector for sustainability, National Rural Drinking

Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance programme has been launched in February, 2006under which 5 persons in each Gram Panchayat are to be trained to carry out regular surveillance

of drinking water sources for which 100% financial assistance including water testing kits, areprovided.



Rural Electrification

Ministry of Power has introduced the scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojana(RGGVY) in April 2005, which aims at providing electricity in all villages and habitations in

four years and provides access to electricity to all rural households. This programme has been

brought under the ambit of Bharat Nirman.Under RGGVY, electricity distribution infrastructure is envisaged to establish Rural ElectricityDistribution Backbone (REDB) with at least a 33/11KV sub-station, Village Electrification

Infrastructure (VEI) with at least a Distribution Transformer in a village or hamlet, andstandalone grids with generation where grid supply is not feasible.

This infrastructure would cater to the requirements of agriculture and other activities in ruralareas including irrigation pump sets, small and medium industries, khadi and village industries,

cold chains, healthcare and education and IT. This would facilitate overall rural development,employment generation and poverty alleviation.

Subsidy towards capital expenditure to the tune of 90% will be provided, through RuralElectrification Corporation Limited (REC), which is a nodal agency for implementation of the

scheme. Electrification of un-electrified Below Poverty Line (BPL) households will be financedwith 100% capital subsidy @ Rs.1500/- per connection in all rural habitations.The Management of Rural Distribution is mandated through franchisees. The services of Central

Public Sector Undertakings (CPSU) are available to the States for assisting them in the executionof Rural Electrification projects.

NATIONAL AGR ICULTURE POLICY

The first ever National Agriculture Policy was announced on 28th July, 2000. The National

Policy on Agriculture seeks to actualise the vast untapped growth potential of Indian agriculture,strengthen rural infrastructure to support faster agricultural development, promote value addition,

accelerate the growth of agro business, create employment in rural areas, secure a fair standardof living for the farmers and agricultural workers and their families, discourage migration to

urban areas and face the challenges arising out of economic liberalization and globalisation. Over the next two decades, it aims to attain:

A growth rate in excess of 4 per cent per annum in the agriculture sector;Growth that is based on efficient use of resources and conserves our soil, water and bio-diversity;

Growth with equity, i.e., growth which is widespread across regions and farmers;Growth that is demand driven and caters to domestic markets and maximises benefits from

exports of agricultural products in the face of the challenges arising from economic liberalization

and globalisation;Growth that is sustainable technologically, environmentally and economically.

The policy seeks to promote technically sound, economically viable, environmentally non-

degrading, and socially acceptable use of country¶s natural resources - land, water and geneticendowment to promote sustainable development of agriculture.

The use of bio-technologies will be promoted for evolving plants which consume less water, aredrought resistant, pest resistant, contain more nutrition, give higher yields and are

environmentally safe. Conservation of bio-resources through their ex situ preservation in Gene



Banks, as also in situ conservation in their natural habitats through bio-diversity parks, etc., willreceive a high priority to prevent depletion of bio-diversity.

Balanced and conjunctive use of bio-mass, organic and inorganic fertilizers and controlled use of agro chemicals through integrated nutrients and pest management (INM & IPM) will be

promoted.

A regionally differentiated strategy will be pursued, taking into account the agronomic, climaticand environmental conditions to realize the full growth potential of every region. Specialattention will be given to development of new crop varieties, particularly of food crops, with

higher nutritional value.A major thrust will be given to development of rainfed and irrigated horticulture, floriculture,

roots and tubers, plantation crops, aromatic and medicinal plants, bee-keeping and sericulture for augmenting food supply, promoting exports and generating employment in the rural areas.

Development of animal husbandry, poultry, dairying and aqua-culture will receive a high priorityin the efforts for diversifying agriculture, increasing animal protein availability in the food basket

and for generating exportable surpluses.An integrated approach to marine and inland fisheries, designed to promote sustainable

aquaculture practices, will be adopted.The regionalization of agricultural research based on identified agro-climatic zones will be

accorded high priority. Application of frontier sciences like bio-technology, remote sensingtechnologies, pre and post-harvest technologies, energy saving technologies, technology for

environmental protection through national research system as well as proprietary research will beencouraged.

The research and extension linkages will be strengthened to improve quality and effectiveness of research and extension system.

Adequate and timely supply of quality inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protectionchemicals, bio-pesticides, agricultural machinery and credit at reasonable rates to farmers will be

the endeavour of the Government.The Government will endeavour to create a favourable economic environment for increasing

capital formation and farmer¶s own investments by removing distortions in the incentive regimefor agriculture, improving the terms of trade with manufacturing sectors and bringing about

external and domestic market reforms.Rural electrification will be given a high priority as a prime mover for agricultural development.

The quality and availability of electricity supply will be improved and the demand of theagriculture sector will be met adequately in a reliable and cost effective manner.

Bridging the gap between irrigation potential created and utilized, completion of all on-goingprojects, restoration and modernization of irrigation infrastructure including drainage, evolving

and implementing an integrated plan of augmentation and management of national water resources will receive special attention for augmenting the availability and use of irrigation

water.Emphasis will be laid on development of marketing infrastructure and techniques of

preservation, storage and transportation with a view to reducing post-harvest losses and ensuringa better return to the grower.

Setting up of agro-processing units in the producing areas to reduce wastage, especially of horticultural produce, increased value addition and creation of off-farm employment in rural

areas will be encouraged.



Institutional reforms will be pursued so as to channelise their energies for achieving greater productivity and production.

The Government will provide active support for the promotion of cooperative form of enterpriseand ensure greater autonomy and operational freedom to them to improve their functioning.

Endeavour will be made to provide a package insurance policy for the farmers, right from

sowing of the crops to post-harvest operations, including market fluctuations in the prices of agricultural produce.The price structure and trade mechanism will be continuously reviewed to ensure a favourable

economic environment for the agriculture sector and to bring about an equitable balance betweenthe rural and the urban incomes.

Quality consciousness amongst farmers and agro processors will be created. Grading andstandardization of agricultural products will be promoted for export enhancement. Application of

science and technology in agriculture will be promoted through a regular system of interfacebetween Science and Technology institutions and the users/potential users to make the sector

globally competitive.The database for the agriculture sector will be strengthened to ensure greater reliability of

estimates and forecasting which will help in the process of planning and policy making.Follow up Action Various Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes are being implemented by theGovernment of India and the State Governments for development of agriculture and allied

activities as per guidelines of the Agriculture Policy. Following major initiatives have been takento accelerate the pace of developmental activity and implement the objectives of the Agriculture

Policy:Macro Management Scheme has been launched after integrating 27 ongoing Centrally Sponsored

Schemes to enable a shift from programmatic approach to a macro mangement mode of assistance to the states in the form of work plans based on crop/area specific, regionally different

strategies, to provide flexibility to State Governments and to ensure timely and effectiveapplication of limited financial resources.

Common guidelines have been issued for National Watershed Development Project for RainfedAreas to harmonize the implementing norms with other watershed development programmes. A

Watershed Development Fund with a corpus of Rs.200 crores each from NABARD and theDepartment of Agriculture & Cooperation, has been created.

A Technology Mission for the Integrated Development of Horticulture in the North-EasternRegion has been launched.

Seed Legislation is under revision to provide fillip to varietal research and plant breeding.Enactment of legislation on the ³Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights´.This is likely

to stimulate investment and initiative both in public and private sector for development of newplant varieties and a vibrant seed industry. A National Seed Policy is under formulation. A

Scheme for Seed Crop Insurance has been launched to cover the risks involved in seedproduction. A Seed Bank has been established to meet contingent requirements of seed in the

wake of natural calamities.Increasing availability, flexibility and security in the flow of credit to the farmers. All eligible

farmers are proposed to be covered under the Kisan Credit Cards scheme within the next 3 years.A personal insurance package is proposed to be extended to Card Holders covering them against

risk to life and injury.



A scheme has been introduced for provision of capital subsidy for construction/modernizationand expansion of cold storages and storages for horticultural produce.

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund corpus has been increased in 2001-02 from Rs.45,00,00,00 thousands to Rs.5,00,00,000 thousands and the interest rate charged by NABARD

reduced.

Market Information Network has been launched with the objective to provide farmers latestinformation on price movements ofagricultural commodities and other essential data.Cooperative Sector Reforms: a new Bill has been formulated and introduced in Parliament for

replacing the existing Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984.Formulation of new subsidy linked scheme for establishment of rural godowns.

Promotion of Food Processing Industries and value addition in agriculture through the exciseexemptions and other interventions.

Standing Committee of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers constituted to consider issuesconcerning agricultural strategies, food management and promotion of agriculture exports. The

Committee has approved the outline of the proposed Grain Bank Scheme which will be extendedto BPL families in identified areas and developed on the contours of the recently launched

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana.

National Action Plan on Climate change

The National Action Plan on Climate change was formally launched on June 30th, 2008. TheNAPCC identifies measures that promote development objectives while also yielding co-benefits

for addressing climate change effectively. There are eight ³National Missions´ which form thecore of the National action plan. They focus on promoting understanding of climate change,

adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.´

The eight missions are:

* National Solar Mission* National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

* National Mission on Sustainable Habitat* National Water Mission

* National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem* National Mission for a Green India

* National Mission fro Sustainable Agriculture* National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

National Solar Mission

Great importance has been given to the National Solar Mission in the NAPCC. The objective of the mission is to increase the share of solar energy in the total energy mix of the country, while

also expanding the scope of other renewable sources. The mission also calls for the launch of aresearch and development (R&D) programme that, with the help of international cooperation,

would look into creating more cost-effective, sustainable and convenient solar power systems.

The NAPCC sets the solar mission a target of delivering 80% coverage for all low temperature



(<150° C) applications of solar energy in urban areas, industries and commercial establishments,and a target of 60% coverage for medium temperature (150° C to 250° C) applications. The

deadline for achieving this is the duration of the 11th and 12th five-year plans, through to 2017.In addition, rural applications are to be pursued through public-private partnership.

The NAP

CC also sets the target of 1000 MW/annum of photovoltaic production from integratedfacilities by 2017 as well as 1000 MW of Concentrating Solar Power generation capacity.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

The Government of India already has a number of initiatives to promote energy efficiency. In

addition to these, the NAPCC calls for:

* Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy consuming industries andcreating a framework to certify excess energy savings along with market based mechanisms to

trade these savings.* Innovative measures to make energy efficient appliances/products in certain sectors more

affordable.* Creation of mechanisms to help finance demand side management programmes by capturing

future energy savings and enabling public* private

* partnerships for this.* Developing fiscal measures to promote energy efficiency such as tax incentives for including

differential taxation on energy efficient certified appliances.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The aim of the Mission is to make habitats more sustainable through a threefold approach thatincludes

* Improvements in energy efficiency of buildings in residential and commercial sector

* Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)* Promote urban public transport

National Water Mission

The National Water Mission aims at conserving water, minimising wastage and ensuring moreequitable distribution through integrated water resource management. The Water Mission willdevelop a framework to increase the water use efficiency by 20%. It calls for strategies to tackle

variability in rainfall and river flows such as enhancing surface and underground water storage,rainwater harvesting and more efficient irrigation systems like sprinklers or drip irrigation.



National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem

The Plan calls for empowering local communities especially Panchayats to play a greater role inmanaging ecological resources. It also reaffirms the following measures mentioned in the

National Environment Policy, 2006.

* Adopting appropriate land* use planning and water

* shed management practices for sustainable development of mountain ecosystems* Adopting best practices for infrastructure construction in mountain regions to avoid or

minimize damage to sensitive ecosystems and despoiling of landscapes* Encouraging cultivation of traditional varieties of crops and horticulture by promoting organic

farming, enabling farmers to realise a price premium* Promoting sustainable tourism based on best practices and multi

* stakeholder partnerships to enable local communities to gain better livelihoods* Taking measures to regulate tourist inflows into mountain regions to ensure that the carrying

capacity of the mountain ecosystem is not breached* Developing protection strategies for certain mountain scopes with unique ³incomparable

values´

National Mission for a Green India

This Mission aims at enhancing ecosystem services such as carbon sinks. It builds on the PrimeMinister¶s Green India campaign for afforestation of 6 million hectares and the national target of

increasing land area under forest cover from 23% to 33%. It is to be implemented on degradedforest land through Joint Forest Management Committees set up under State Departments of

Forests. These Committees will promote direct action by communities.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

The aim is to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change by identifying new

varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant ones and alternative cropping patterns. This is tobe supported by integration of traditional knowledge and practical systems, information

technology and biotechnology, as well as new credit and insurance mechanisms.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change

This Mission strives to work with the global community in research and technology developmentand collaboration through a variety of mechanisms and, in addition, will also have its own

research agenda supported by a network of dedicated climate change related institutions anduniversities and a Climate Research Fund. The Mission will also encourage private sector

initiatives for developing innovative technologies for adaptation and mitigation.



Implementation of Missions

The 8 National Missions are to be institutionalised by ³respective ministries´ and will be

organised through inter-sectoral groups including, in addition to related Ministries, Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission, experts from industry, academia and civil society.

Climate Change and working towards Sustainable Development

India released its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on 30th June, 2008, to

outline its strategy to meet the Climate Change challenge. The National Action Plan advocates astrategy that promotes, firstly, the adaptation to Climate Change and secondly, further

enhancement of the ecological sustainability of India's development path. India's National ActionPlan stresses that maintaining a high growth rate is essential for increasing the living standards of

the vast majority of people of India and reducing their vulnerability to the impacts of climatechange. Accordingly, the Action Plan identifies measures that promote the objectives of

sustainable development of India while also yielding to benefits for addressing climate change.There are eight National Missions (External website that opens in a new window) which form

the core of the National Action Plan, representing the multi-pronged long-term strategy. Thesemissions have been formed by combining several ongoing programmes with the ones newly

formulated.

y National Solar Mission has a twin objective - to contribute to India's long term energy

security as well as its ecological security. We are living in a world of rapidly depletingfossil fuel resources and access to conventional energy resources such as oil, gas and coal

is becoming increasingly constrained. The rapid development and deployment of renewable energy is imperative in this context and in view of high solar radiation over the

country solar energy provides a long term sustainable solution.y National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power (External

website that opens in a new window).y National Mission on Sustainable Habitat will target improvements in energy efficiency

in buildings, management of solid waste and accelerating modal shift to mass transport.y The National Water Mission¶s main objective is ³conservation of water, minimizing

wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within states throughintegrated water resources development and management´.

y The purpose of the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system is to get a

complete understanding of whether and to what extent the Himalayan glaciers are inrecession and how the problem can be addressed. The other major objective is toestablish an observational and monitoring network for the Himalayan environment to

assess freshwater resources and health of ecosystem.y The draft of the National Mission for a Green India aims to address climate change by

enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and by adaptation of vulnerableecosystems and forest-dependent local communities to changing climate. It builds on the

Prime Minister's Green India campaign for afforestation and the national target of



increasing land area under forest cover. It is to be implemented on degraded forest landthrough Joint Forest Management Committees set up under State Departments of Forests.

These Committees will promote direct action by communities.y The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture aims to make Indian agriculture

more resilient to climate change by identifying new varieties of crops, especially thermal

resistant ones and alternative cropping patterns. This is to be supported by integration of traditional knowledge and practical systems, information technology and biotechnology,as well as new credit and insurance mechanisms.

y National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change strives to work with theglobal community in research and technology development and collaboration through a

variety of mechanisms and, in addition, will also have its own research agenda supportedby a network of dedicated climate change related institutions and universities and a

Climate Research Fund. The Mission will also encourage private sector initiatives for developing innovative technologies for adaptation and mitigation.

While these National Missions will serve as umbrella organisations in their respective fields,

some existing schemes and programmes towards sustainable development that are beingundertaken by the government are:

y Carrying Capacity Based Regional Development Planning (External website that opens in

a new window).y Grand in Aid Scheme for Development and Promotion of Clean Technology.

y Grant in Aid Scheme for Voluntary Agencies (External website that opens in a newwindow)

y Green Architecture (External website that opens in a new window) by School of Planningand Architecture (External website that opens in a new window)

y Sustainable Development Framework for mining (External website that opens in a newwindow)

y Convergence for Sustainable Development

Documents

RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMMES