Parliament Question: Urban drinking water scarcity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1019 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2026 URBAN DRINKING WATER SCARCITY 1019. SMT. JEBI MATHER HISHAM: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the city-wise details of those officially identified as at risk of running out of drinking water; (b) the concrete measures that were implemented to address urban water scarcity during the last five years and the city-wise outcomes thereof; (c) the public expenditure incurred over the last five years to mitigate urban drinking-water shortage city-wise; (d) whether Government has assessed the economic losses caused by severe water crises in major cities, including the national capital, if so, the details thereof city-wise; and (e) whether the prioritisation of drinking water supply has affected hydropower generation, if so, the assessment findings and mitigation measures undertaken? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a): Water is a State subject. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through schematic interventions/ advisories. It provides financial and technical support to the States through various Mission/ Schemes such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and AMRUT 2.0. The details sought are not maintained. (b) to (e): Under AMRUT 2.0 launched on 1st October, 2021 in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ cities, enabling the cities to become 'self-reliant' and 'water secure', cities have prepared City Water Balance Plans (CWBPs), which include as-is assessment of water supply systems which help cities/ ULBs to identify water sources, quantum of water available, water demand and supply in the city culminating in gaps in services. AMRUT 2.0 also promotes a circular water economy through city water balance plans, inter alia focusing on treated sewage reuse, waterbody rejuvenation, and water conservation. Under AMRUT & AMRUT 2.0, the State/ UTs are empowered to select, appraise, prioritise and implement the projects as per their local requirements within the broad framework of Mission guidelines. Under AMRUT, 1,403 water supply projects worth ₹43,359.6 crore have been grounded. A total of 6,140 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of WTP capacity has been approved under AMRUT, of which, 5,330 MLD WTP capacity has been developed and a total of 73,520 km of water supply pipeline network has been laid or replaced. Under AMRUT 2.0 so far, the proposal of the States/UTs for 3,528 water supply projects worth ₹1,19,636.49 crore and 3,016 water body rejuvenation projects worth ₹6,223.48 crore have been approved by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Approved projects cover 11,393 MLD WTP capacity and about 1.26 lakh km of water supply network. Further, to promote groundwater recharge, Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) initiative under AMRUT 2.0 was launched as a pilot project across 9 diverse Indian cities. This has been further scaled up under SAM 2.0 to 75 additional cities. This initiative focusses on development of groundwater recharge plans, demonstration of variety of recharge structures, and building knowledge on creating awareness among city officials and citizens on importance of aquifer management in overall water management strategy of city. …2/--2- Under the sewerage component for 500 AMRUT cities, admissible activities under AMRUT 2.0 include tertiary treatment with end-to-end reuse. So far, 1,437 MLD capacity has been developed for recycle/reuse under AMRUT. As informed by the cities in City Water Balance Plan on AMRUT 2.0 platform, around 6,535 MLD of treated water are reused by the States in industries, horticulture, agriculture, etc. Another, 1,931 MLD capacity for recycle/reuse is approved under AMRUT 2.0. Further, MoHUA has launched "Jal Hi AMRIT" initiative under AMRUT 2.0 reforms, which aims to incentivize States and UTs to efficiently manage sewage treatment plants for recyclable treated water meeting environmental standards on sustained basis. The focus of this initiative is building capacity and incentivizing qualitative improvements in the treated discharge effluent. To institutionalize circularity, Water Resource Recovery Cells (WRRCs) have been established in 25 States/UTs under this initiative to plan, monitor, and scale resource recovery interventions. AMRUT/ AMRUT 2.0 is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. During last 5 years and current year, Central share of around ₹36,691 crore has been released to the States/ UTs under AMRUT/ AMRUT 2.0. MoHUA has not conducted any specific study to assess the economic losses caused by water crisis in urban areas. Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power has informed that since the capacity of hydroelectric projects and associated generation is determined after accounting for all other specified uses of water such as for drinking, irrigation etc., the prioritization of drinking water supply has not adversely affected hydropower generation. *****