The Drinking Water and Sanitation (DWS) Ministry seems to be an orphan for now, with confusion over which Minister is in charge of it under the new government.
The Ministry was not mentioned in the list of portfolios allocated on Friday. “The new Jal Shakti Ministry will merge several other Ministries, but the specifics are still not clear,” a senior official told The Hindu . “Further clarity is required.”
After taking charge at the office of the Ministry of Water Resources, new Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters, “All the water related works will be merged under one Ministry,” reported news agency PTI.
However, at the Ministry of DWS, one official said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which is responsible for all unallotted Ministries, was in charge.
Another official, however, said the Ministry was “still awaiting the official change of Allocation of Business Rules to be issued by the Cabinet.”
The official added, “Hopefully it’ll come soon.”
