Question : SHORTAGE OF WATER

(a) whether the Government has made any assessment in regard to acute shortage of water/drinking water in major metropolitan and other urban cities including Delhi and Mumbai;

(b) if so, the details thereof, city-wise;

(c) the steps taken by the Government to solve the drinking water problem in the urban areas of the country including Delhi and Mumbai;

(d) the financial allocations made to these cities during each of the last three years and the utilisation thereof;

(e) whether the Union Government is considering to implement any new scheme to tackle the problem of drinking water shortage;

(f) if so, the details thereof, State-wise including West Bengal; and

(g) the action taken/being taken by the Government to resolve conflicts over inter-State rivers and their contamination?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT(SHRI SAUGATA ROY)

(a) & (b) : An assessment of per capita availability of drinking water in metropolitan cities was made in November, 2003. Details enclosed at Annexure-I.Ministry of Water Resources has made an assessment of water demand for domestic purposes for the 35 metropolitan cities upto 2021 on the basis of inputs from State Water Resources/Irrigation Departments (Annexure-II). As per pilot projects for Service Level Benchmarking for 28 cities, status with respect to coverage including per capita water supply is given at Annexure-III.

(c) & (d) : Ministry is supplementing the efforts of State Governments/Urban Local Bodies in providing adequate water supply facilities in urban areas under various schemes such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). The details enclosed at Annexure-IV.

(e): No, madam.

(f): Does not arise.

(g): To resolve conflicts over inter-state rivers, there are various tribunals like Cauvery tribunal, Krishna tribunal etc. To prevent pollution of water, Government of India is supporting measures like Sewerage Treatment and Solid Waste Management.