Ministry of Jal Shakti

Ministry of Jal Shakti

Branch of Government of India
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Agency overview
Formed	May 2019[1]
Jurisdiction	Government of India
Annual budget	₹97,278 crore (US$12 billion) (2023-24 est)
Ministers responsible	C. R. Patil, Cabinet Minister V. Somanna, Minister of State Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Minister of State
Website	jalshakti.gov.in

The Ministry of Jal Shakti (lit. 'Ministry of Water Resources') is a ministry under the Government of India which was formed in May 2019 under the second Modi ministry. This was formed by merging of two ministries; the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.[1]

The formation of this ministry reflects India's seriousness towards the mounting water challenges the country has been facing over the past few decades.[2] WAPCOS is an Indian multinational government undertaking and consultancy firm wholly owned by Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.[3][4][5][6]

Functions

The ministry was incorporated with an aim to clean the river Ganges. They would also encompass any international or national disputes between inter-state water bodies and the rivers which are shared by India along with other neighboring countries.[7] A special project "Namami Gange" project has been launched to clean Ganga and its tributaries to provide safe drinking water to people of the country.[8] The ministry has also launched its special campaigns on social so that citizens of the country become aware of water conservation.

Organisation of Ministry

Under this ministry two departments work, these departments and their offices are as follow:

Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Attached Office

• Central Water Commission (CWC)

Attached Subordinate Offices/ Societies

• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
• National Water Development Agency (NWDA)
• National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD)
• Brahmaputra Board

Research/Training Institutions

• National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC)
• Central Soil And Materials Research Station (CSMRS)
• National Institute Of Hydrology (NIH)
• Central Water And Power Research Station (CWPRS)
• North Eastern Regional Institute Of Water And Land Management (NERIWALM)

PSUs

• Water And Power Consultancy Services Ltd (WAPCOS)
• National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC)

Water Regulatory Organisations

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) or Namami Gange Programme
• Narmada Control Authority (NCA)
• Farakka Barrage Project (FBP)
• Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB)
• Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC)
• Bansagar Control Board (BCB)
• Betwa River Board (BRB)
• Tungabhadra Board (TB)
• Godavari River Management Board
• Krishna River Management Board (KRMB)
• Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)

Irrigation Project Funded by MoJS

• Polavaram Project Authority

Water Dispute Tribunals

• Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal
• Ravi And Beas Water Dispute Tribunal
• Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal
• Vansadhara Water Dispute Tribunal

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation

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.^[citation needed]

The department became the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2011, keeping in view the extreme importance given to the sector by the United Progressive Alliance government.^[neutrality is disputed] From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti.[1] 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.[9]

This department promotes many sanitation missions and programs for public, the main sanitation programs are:

• Jal Jeevan Mission
• Swachh Bharat Mission

Notable decisions

The ministry 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.[10][11][12]

Cabinet Ministers

Drinking Water and Sanitation

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

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
1			Gurudas Kamat (1954–2018) MP for Mumbai North West (MoS, I/C)	12 July 2011	13 July 2011	1 day	Indian National Congress	Manmohan II		Manmohan Singh
2			Jairam Ramesh (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP for Andhra Pradesh	13 July 2011	28 October 2012	1 year, 107 days
3			Bharatsinh Solanki (born 1953) MP for Anand (MoS, I/C)	28 October 2012	26 May 2014	1 year, 210 days
4			Gopinath Munde (1949–2014) MP for Beed	27 May 2014	3 June 2014 (died in office)	7 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
5			Nitin Gadkari (born 1957) MP for Nagpur	4 June 2014	9 November 2014	158 days
6			Birender Singh (born 1946) Rajya Sabha MP for Haryana	9 November 2014	5 July 2016	1 year, 239 days
7			Narendra Singh Tomar (born 1957) MP for Gwalior	5 July 2016	3 September 2017	1 year, 60 days
8			Uma Bharti (born 1959) MP for Jhansi	3 September 2017	30 May 2019	1 year, 269 days
Ministry disestablished in 2019[a]

1. The ministry's competences were transferred to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Jal Shakti

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
9			Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (born 1967) MP for Jodhpur	31 May 2019	9 June 2024	5 years, 9 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi II		Narendra Modi
10			Chandrakant Raghunath Patil (born 1955) MP for Navsari	10 June 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 11 days		Modi III

Ministers of State

Drinking Water and Sanitation

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
1			Upendra Kushwaha (born 1960) MP for Karakat	26 May 2014	9 November 2014	167 days	Rashtriya Lok Samta Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
2			Ram Kripal Yadav (born 1957) MP for Pataliputra	9 November 2014	5 July 2016	1 year, 239 days	Bharatiya Janata Party
3			Ramesh Jigajinagi (born 1952) MP for Bijapur	5 July 2016	30 May 2019	2 years, 329 days
4			S. S. Ahluwalia (born 1951) MP for Darjeeling	3 September 2017	14 May 2018	253 days
Ministry disestablished in 2019

Jal Shakti

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
5			Rattan Lal Kataria (1951–2023) MP for Ambala	31 May 2019	7 July 2021	2 years, 37 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi II		Narendra Modi
6			Prahlad Singh Patel (born 1960) MP for Damoh	7 July 2021	7 December 2023	2 years, 153 days
7			Bishweswar Tudu (born 1965) MP for Mayurbhanj	7 July 2021	9 June 2024	2 years, 338 days
8			Rajeev Chandrasekhar (born 1964) Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka	7 December 2023	9 June 2024	185 days
9			V. Somanna (born 1950) MP for Tumkur	10 June 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 11 days		Modi III
10			Dr. Raj Bhushan Choudhary MP for Muzaffarpur

References

1. "Govt forms 'Jal Shakti' Ministry by merging Water Resources and Drinking Water Ministries". Business Standard. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
2. "Water Challenges: India Forms a New Ministry". Report Syndication. 25 September 2019.
3. "WAPCOS | International Consultants | Water Resources | Power & Infrastructure Development". www.wapcos.gov.in. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
4. "Nitin Gadkari dubs India as 'goldmine' for ropeways; asks Doppelmayr to tap opportunities". Zee Business. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
5. "WAPCOS CMD R K Gupta to remain on turf till 2020". IndianMandarins. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
6. "Shri R.K. Gupta CMD NPCC visits WAPCOS Limited ". www.psuconnect.in. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
7. "Government forms 'Jal Shakti' Ministry by merging Water Resources and Drinking water Ministry". thehindubusinessline.com. PTI, New Delhi. 31 May 2019.
8. "Department of Water Resources RD & GR, Government of India". Department of Water Resources, Government of India.
9. "Swachchh Mission Gallops in Villages". Dailypioneer.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
10. "Circular Waste Bottled" (PDF). himachal.nic. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
11. "Plastic Bottles" (PDF). nbsslup.in. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
12. "Avoiding use of bottled water during meetings" (PDF). aghp.gov. Retrieved 2 September 2016.