Over 81 per cent of the rural population in the country has
access to safe drinking water. In a written reply, Minister for
Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Ramesh said in the Rajya Sabha today that out of the total water resources in the country an estimated five per cent is used for drinking and other domestic purposes. Out of the total drinking water sources in the rural areas of the country, nearly six per cent is polluted. He said as per the guidelines of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, NRDWP, average person should have 40 liters of safe drinking water.