NRDWP Updated Guidelines 2013

About Dataset

National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) – Framework for Implementation (Updated 2013) is the principal policy and operational guideline issued by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, to guide the planning, implementation, financing, monitoring, and management of rural drinking water supply across the country. The updated framework reflects the Twelfth Five-Year Plan priorities and introduces a paradigm shift from habitation-based coverage to household-level drinking water security with an increased emphasis on piped water supply, sustainability, water quality, and decentralized governance. The document establishes the national vision of providing safe and adequate drinking water to every rural household at all times while ensuring potability, reliability, affordability, convenience, equity, and sustainability. It raises the rural water-supply design norm from 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) to 55 lpcd, promotes gradual expansion towards household tap connections, and lays down the long-term strategic goal of providing 70 lpcd by 2022 with water available within household premises or within a distance of 50 metres. The National Policy Framework (pages 1–6) explains the programme vision, objectives, strategic goals, source security measures, sustainability principles, and service norms. The guidelines comprehensively describe programme components, including Coverage, Sustainability, Water Quality, Operation & Maintenance (O&M), Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S), and Support Activities. They specify the funding pattern, Centre–State cost sharing, earmarked allocations for North-Eastern States, Desert Development Programme (DDP) areas, water-quality-affected habitations, natural calamities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and incentives linked to the Management Devolution Index (MDI). The programme also emphasizes drinking water in schools and anganwadis, gender empowerment, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), and community-led management of rural water-supply systems. These provisions are detailed in Chapters 9–10 and the accompanying allocation tables. A major focus of the framework is sustainable water-resource management through rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater, water-source protection, integrated water-resource management, water budgeting, wastewater treatment and reuse, and long-term source sustainability. The document also provides detailed guidance on Village Water Security Plans, Annual Action Plans, institutional arrangements, Management Information System (IMIS), GIS-based planning, research and development, communication and capacity development, Block Resource Centres, Water and Sanitation Support Organisations (WSSO), social audit, online monitoring, water-quality surveillance, and financial accountability. Extensive annexures include implementation guidelines for sustainability, Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S), IEC, MIS, research and development, institutional arrangements, Management Devolution Index, fund-release procedures, audit formats, and utilisation guidelines.