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The Centre is planning to bring 80 per cent of the rural households under piped drinking water supply schemes in next eight years. Currently, 45 per cent of nearly 6 lakh villages in the country have tap water supplies. And, of the 18 crore rural households, only three crore homes get piped water. According to Sujoy Mojumdar, Director of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Centre plans to supply piped water to 90 per cent of the villages and 80 per cent of the rural households. “This will entail an investment of at least 300,000 crore by the Centre,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI ). Both the Centre and States will invest 68,000 crore each for the scheme during the current Five Year Plan Period, ending 2017.Similarly, around 10 crore households in rural India (accounting for 60 per cent of the rural households) do not have proper sanitation facilities such as toilets at home. According to Mojumdar, as much as 60 per cent of the rural population indulge in open defecation.“Our target is to have toilets in every rural home and stop open-air defecation by 2022. The Centre will require at least 150,000 crore to set up sanitation facilities across these households,” Mojumdar added.