Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
	Emblem of India
Agency overview
Formed	2011
Dissolved	May 2019
Jurisdiction	Government of India
Website	www.mdws.gov.in

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.^{[neutrality is disputed]} 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

^† Died in office

No.	Portrait	Minister (Birth-Death)	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
No.	Portrait	Minister (Birth-Death)	From	To	Period	Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
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) MP for Andhra Pradesh (Rajya Sabha)	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^[†]	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) MP for Haryana (Rajya Sabha)	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 merged with Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti

Ministers of State

No.	Portrait	Minister (Birth-Death)	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
No.	Portrait	Minister (Birth-Death)	From	To	Period	Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
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 merged with Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti