42 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
NDWM had a clear goal of covering residual problem villages (1.62 lakh at the begining
of the seventh plan) by 1990. In order to achieve the same, it provided low-cost appropriate
technological solution to identify problems associated with supply of safe drinking water
through the application of scientific and technological inputs. Nearly 85 per cent of the
programme is to provide spot sources through Level Operation and Maintenance (LOM)
pump called India mark II is presently being exported to nearly 40 countries World over.
Mini-mission Areas
Some 55 pilot Project called mini-mission areas covering various status and union
territories and Five Submission were taken up during the seventh plan. A problem village
has been defined as one with no source of safe drinking water within a distance of 1.6. or
within a depth of 15 metres. One problem villagers face are those where available water has
excessive salinity, iron, fluoride or other toxic elements or where diseases like cholera,
guinea worm, etc are endemic.
After covering problem villagers identified in the Sixth and Seventh Plan, water supply
facilities were proposed to be extended to villagers as per liberalized norms i.e. within a distance
of 0.5 km. and enhancing present norm of water supply from 40 litres to 70 litres per capita per
day and provide one source (tubewell with hand-pumps or stand-post) for a population of 150
against the existing norm of 250-300 persons. Priority was being accorded for coverage of
SC/ST habitations and water supply for the economically and socially background areas.
States were advised to allocate atleast 25 per cent of ARWSP funds for the Schedule
Castes and another ten per cent of Schedule Tribes. At the commencement of the seventh
plan, 161, 722 problem villages remained to be covered with safe drinking water facilities.
The mission had been successful in covering 1,53,390 problem villages in the Seventh Plan.
Remaining 8,332 villages which had spilled over to the Eight Plan were to be covered in the
first two years of the Eight Plan i.e. by 1992.
Against the Seventh Plan outlay for Central Assistance to States/UTs under ARWSP
and Technology Mission Schemes for Rs. 1207 crore, Rs. 1906 crore had actually been
released and utilised and Rs. 423 crore had been provided in 1990-91 for ARWSP/Mini-
Mission and submission and national drinking water mission and Rs. 6.43 crore under State
Sector MNP.
Through NDWM, science and technology inputs had been harnessed in a big wat including
Remote-sensing and satellite imagery, geographical, investigations, etc. to effect scientific source
finding. Steps were also initiated to investigation of water purification from laboratories to
commercial production and then on to field for removing salinity, excess iron and excess fluoride.
Looking at the success of India’s Performance in the rural drinking water supply, for
the first time a flobal consulatation national development programme and the Government
of India between 10-14 September, 1990 where 125 countries and various multi-lateral and
bilateral agencies were represented through 600 delegates. The challenge set up for the next
decade is “Some for all, rather than more for some”.
The New Delhi Global Consultation
The New Delhi global consultation recommended four guiding principles which are:
(i) Protection of the environment and safeguarding of health through the integrated
management of water resources and liquid and solid waters.