A BILL TO ENSURE RIGHT TO WATER

•  The proposed National Water Framework Law talks of providing citizens a minimum quantity of potable water (not less than 25 litres per capita per day) - somewhat on the lines of the National Food Security Bill that is aimed at protecting the people’s right to food - and its “fair pricing for drinking and uses like sanitation, agriculture and industrial” purposes.
• According to the draft law, the state’s responsibility to ensure the right to water will remain despite corporatisation or privatization of water services.

 HIGHLIGHTS:

• The proposed Bill, under the head “Rights to water, preservation of quality and water pricing”, says that “every individual has a right to a minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene and within an easy reach of the household.
•  The minimum quantity of potable water shall be prescribed by the appropriate government after expert examination and public consultation, provided that the minimum quantity of potable water shall not be less than 25 litres per capita per day
•  The states will have to provide the minimum quantity of water for drinking and sanitation free of cost to the eligible households.