Water Supply And Sanitation In India
This article has last been comprehensively updated in 2010, with some updates in 2012. Please feel free to further update it.
| India: Water and Sanitation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Data | ||
| Access to improved source of water (Urban/Rural/Total) | 96%/84%/88% (2008) | |
| Access to improved sanitation (Urban/Rural/Total) | 54%/21%/31% (2008) | |
| Average urban water use (liter/capita/day) | 126 (2006) | |
| Average urban water and sewer bill for 20m3 | US$2 (2007) | |
| Share of household metering | 55% in urban areas (1999) | |
| Share of collected wastewater treated | 27% (2003) | |
| Annual investment in water supply and sanitation | US$5 / capita | |
| Institutions | ||
| Decentralization to municipalities | Partial | |
| National water and sanitation company | No | |
| Water and sanitation regulator | No | |
| Responsibility for policy setting | State Governments; Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Water and Sanitation at the Federal Level | |
| Sector law | No | |
| Number of urban service providers | 3,255 (1991) | |
| Number of rural service providers | about 100,000 | |
Drinking water supply and sanitation in India continue to be inadequate, despite longstanding efforts by the various levels of government and communities at improving coverage. The level of investment in water and sanitation, albeit low by international standards, has increased during the 2000s. Access has also increased significantly. For example, in 1980 rural sanitation coverage was estimated at 1% and reached 21% in 2008. Also, the share of Indians with access to improved sources of water has increased significantly from 72% in 1990 to 88% in 2008. At the same time, local government institutions in charge of operating and maintaining the infrastructure are seen as weak and lack the financial resources to carry out their functions. In addition, no major city in India is known to have a continuous water supply and an estimated 72% of Indians still lack access to improved sanitation facilities.
A number of innovative approaches to improve water supply and sanitation have been tested in India, in particular in the early 2000s. These include demand-driven approaches in rural water supply since 1999, community-led total sanitation, a public-private partnerships to improve the continuity of urban water supply in Karnataka, and the use of micro-credit to women in order to improve access to water.
Read more about Water Supply And Sanitation In India: Access, Service Quality, Health Impact, Water Supply and Water Resources, Responsibility For Water Supply and Sanitation, Innovative Approaches, Efficiency of Utilities, Tariffs, Cost Recovery and Subsidies, Investment and Financing, External Cooperation, See Also
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