The standing committee report on the Ministry of Jal Shakti –Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation has unearthed the harsh realities of the availability of clean water in rural India. According to the standing committee report, water in 19 thousand villages of the country is contaminated due to the presence of arsenic, fluoride, iron, nitrate and salinity, etc. and using it for drinking and cooking purposes may cause serious health hazards. The said report has further pointed out that efforts to provide clean water to the people have not achieved much success due to paucity of funds, unnecessary delay in implementation of projects, etc. The standing committee has also found that efforts to provide temporary relief to affected villages have also proved ineffective. The report noted that Assam is at the top of the list wherein water sources are contaminated with iron and salinity. 6749 villages of Assam are facing problems finding clean water sources. Another Northeastern state, Tripura, has also figured in the list as it has 326 villages with limited access to potable water. Moreover, nearly 8840 villages in Rajasthan are affected by the presence of nitrate and salinity in water. The report further stated that measures like establishing community water treatment plants have provided relief to nearly one thousand villages where water sources are polluted by the presence of arsenic and fluoride. These plants provide 10 litre of potable water per day to villagers for their drinking and cooking requirements. The standing committee praised the role of the government in its effort to provide arsenic-free water to the people and has urged it to take similar steps in dealing with other metals that contaminate water sources. The committee urged all concerned to take immediate measures to ensure clean water supply to the people living in these villages.
There is no denying that public health has often been neglected in rural areas of the country as focus has been placed mainly on improving facilities like drinking water, sanitation and other related matters in urban areas. This is why people living in urban areas are enjoying higher standard of living, while those in villages are struggling to get basic facilities. The situation has not changed much even after decentralisation of power, whereby local bodies were set up to address such matters. The local bodies and associated departments must be held accountable for their failure at providing basic facilities to those living under their administrative control. Without accountability, the dream of providing clean water and other basic facilities throughout the country will remain unfulfilled. While funds should be made available, a close watch should be kept on timely implementation of such projects. The aforementioned steps and measures are essential to providing basic facilities to all of India’s citizens, which is the primary responsibility of a welfare state.