Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation explained

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Seal:	Emblem_of_India.svg
Seal Size:	70px
Formed:	12 Jul 2011
Dissolved:	31 May 2019^[1]
Jurisdiction:	Government of India

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was a ministry of the Government of India formed in 2011. From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti.^[1]

In 1999, the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) was formed under Ministry of Rural Development, for focused attention on drinking water and sanitation. Later it was renamed as Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2010. In 2011, it was conferred the Ministry status, keeping in view the extreme importance given to the sector by the United Progressive Alliance government. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was the nodal department for the overall policy, planning, funding and coordination of programmes of drinking water and sanitation in the country.

Responsibilities

The ministry was responsible for the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in rural India. It got 8 million toilets constructed surpassing the target of 6 million toilets for the year 2015–16.^[2]

Notable decisions

The Ministry has requested various governmental departments to avoid the usage of plastic bottles to provide drinking water during governmental meetings etc., and instead, to make arrangements for providing drinking water that do not result in the generation of plastic waste.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Cabinet Ministers

• Note: MoS, I/C Minister of State with Independent Charge

	Portrait		Minister	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
1			Gurudas Kamat (MoS, I/C)	12 July 2011	13 July 2011		Indian National Congress	Manmohan II		Manmohan Singh
2			Jairam Ramesh	13 July 2011	28 October 2012
3			Bharatsinh Solanki (MoS, I/C)	28 October 2012	26 May 2014
4			Gopinath Munde	27 May 2014	3 June 2014		Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
5			Nitin Gadkari	4 June 2014	9 November 2014
6			Birender Singh	9 November 2014	5 July 2016
7			Narendra Singh Tomar	5 July 2016	3 September 2017
8			Uma Bharti	3 September 2017	30 May 2019

Ministers of State

	Portrait		Minister	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
1			Upendra Kushwaha	26 May 2014	9 November 2014		Rashtriya Lok Samta Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
2			Ram Kripal Yadav	9 November 2014	5 July 2016		Bharatiya Janata Party
3			Ramesh Jigajinagi	5 July 2016	30 May 2019
4			S. S. Ahluwalia	3 September 2017	14 May 2018

External links

• Official website of the Ministry

Notes and References

1. Web site: Govt forms 'Jal Shakti' Ministry by merging Water Resources and Drinking Water Ministries . Business Standard . 31 May 2019 . 10 July 2019.
2. Web site: Swachchh Mission Gallops in Villages. 2 September 2016. Dailypioneer.com.
3. Web site: Circular Waste Bottled. 2 September 2016. himachal.nic.
4. Web site: Plastic Bottles. 2 September 2016. nbsslup.in.
5. Web site: Avoiding use of bottled water during meetings. 2 September 2016. aghp.gov.