Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: CID with SR for Water and Sanitation in the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council ( 09-27 September 2019), delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary,
Permanent Mission of India, (Geneva, 09th September 2019)
Mr. Vice President,
1.We take note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.
2. To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage in a time bound manner in mission mode, the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2nd October, 2014, with the goal of achieving an open defecation free India. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation manages the rural component of the mission. Since the launch of the programme, India’s rural sanitation coverage has increased from 39% in 2014 to over 99% as of June 2019, and the Mission is on track to achieve its goal of an ODF India by 2019.
3. Another significant step by India has been constitution of the Jal Shakti Ministry, integrating the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. This new Ministry has been created with the idea of management of our water resources and water supply in an integrated and holistic manner, and will work with States to ensure piped water supply to all rural households by 2024.
4. Another recently launched government scheme, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, is a campaign for water conservation and water security. The scheme is a collaborative effort of various Ministries of the Government of India and State Governments, being coordinated by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The focus of the campaign is on water stressed districts and blocks. The Government aims at providing drinking water to every household on priority and in a sustainable manner. The focus will be on five important water conservation interventions. These will be water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse, bore well recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.
5. India is committed to ensuring access to water and sanitation in all spheres of life beyond the household, particularly in public spaces, which is an essential element of the human rights to water and sanitation.
Full version of this statement will be uploaded on the HRC Extranet.
Thank You, Mr. Vice President.
