1.49 lakh schools in country lack drinking water supply

TIRUPATI: Seven years after the implementation of Right to Education Act, there are still more than 1,49,389 schools and anganwadis in the country, run by the government, local bodies, government-aided and private managements, that have no drinking water facility, according to the latest reports tabled at the website of National Rural Drinking Water Programme under the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Out of the total 10,40,009 schools and anganwadis listed in the report, about 11 per cent of them has no drinking water facilities and the unconfirmed reports says, though 89 per cent of them were covered under the NRDW, nearly 23 per cent of them were far away from the quality drinking water supply.

The data provided at the website revealed that in Madhya Pradesh, out of 1,16,437 schools and anganwadis, nearly 20,387 including 13,979 schools and 6,408 anganwadis lack drinking water facilities, followed by Karnataka where 19,563 including 9,276 schools and 10,287 anganwadis out of 82,874 lack this facility.

In AP, out of the 45,383 schools listed, in which a total of 3,113 schools including 12 private, 1,202 local bodies, 37 government-aided and 1,862 government schools have been facing a similar crisis with the non-supply of drinking water. Similarly, out of 7,083 anganwadis listed, about 2859 centres are also facing this crisis.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education For All) framework for elementary education specifies that provision for drinking water in every school is a must. The Department of Drinking Water Supply in the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has a provision under the NRDW Programme to provide drinking water facility in rural schools.

NRDW was mainly created to provide every rural area including habitations, schools and other centres with adequate safe water for drinking, cooking and other basic domestic needs on a sustainable basis, with a minimum water quality standard.

An official from the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said, in a statement released by the ministry, that in the 12th Five Year Plan period, under the NRDWP, the Ministry had awarded special emphasis on piped water supply in rural habitations including schools and anganwadis. It also stated that states are being asked to plan for coverage of habitations with piped water supply through stand posts or household connections.

"The main reason for not fully achieving the targets of coverage of habitations included high capital costs of large multi-village schemes to bring water from distant safe sources, time taken for planning, designing and sanctioning, procuring and execution. The existing systems are also working at low-rated capacities because of poor operation and management of systems. The increase in population is also one reason for non-implementation", he explained.

Meanwhile, in terms of providing safe drinking water to schools and anganwadis, the State of Maharashtra is on the top. Out of 1,37,304 listed centres in Maharashtra, only 478 schools and anganwadis are yet to be covered by the scheme.