Assam Public Health Engineering Department is acting as a nodal agency for Rural water Supply and Sanitation in Assam.

For ensuring access to safe water to the rural masses following are the three major Government sponsored programmes

1. Minimum Need Programme (MNP)

2. Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP)

3. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Jojna - RWS

Minimum Need Programme (MNP) - Rural water supply is a State subject. Since Fifth Five Year Plan rural water supply has been included under MNP. Scheduled Cast Component Plan (SCCP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) have been made the integral component of MNP. [Financial Expenditure under MNP]

Accelerated Rural Water supply Programme (ARWSP) - Though rural water supply is a State subject, but considering the magnitude of the problem and to accelerate the pace of coverage, Government of India introduced ARWSP in 1972-73 to assist the States and Union Territories with 100% grant-in-aid. The programme continued till 1973-74 and then temporarily withdrawn. The ARWSP was however reintroduced by Government of India in 1977-78 and still continuing. [Financial Expenditure under ARWSP]

Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Jojna Rural Water Supply Programme (PMGY-RWSP) - Since 2000-01 Government of India has been providing assistance for rural water supply through PMGY programme. PMGY has been operationalised as an integral component of MNP

Swajadhara Programme - Emphasising the need for taking up community based rural water supply programmes and to open up the reform initiatives in the rural drinking water supply sector Government of India has introduced a  programme called Swajaldhara, which was launched by the Prime Minister of India on 25 th  December 2002.

Water supply is ensured to the rural population by Piped Water Supply Schemes (PWSS) and Spot Source Water Supply Schemes (SSWSS). A PWSS is adopted to cover a larger population and also when there is the need of proper treatment of raw water. A SSWSS is adopted to cater smaller population and also where the raw water requires no or minimum treatment. Various type of spot sources adopted by the APHED are :-

Conventional Hand Tube Well (Earlier No. 6 Hand Tube Wells were installed for rural water supply. However, presently this type is discarded and Singur Type Hand Tube Wells are being used) Direct Action (Tara) Hand Pump India M II Hand Pump India M III Hand Pump Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) Ring Well

Deep Tube Well Boring by Rig

Assam Public Health Engineering Department is also the nodal department for rural sanitation programme.

Two major Government sponsored programmes are

1. Minimum Need Programme (MNP)

2. Centrally Sponsored Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP)

Rural sanitation programme is a State subject and included in the MNP from the year 1986.

Government of India launched CRSP with 100 % grant-in-aid to the State and Union Territories.

Sanitation Block with Water Supply Arrangement

In April 1999, Government of India revamped the CRSP and introduced it as the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). TSC moved away from allocation based supply driven approach to demand responsive strategy. Primary focus of TSC is to form environmental sanitation generating felt demand and developing alternative delivery mechanism.