RAS question
The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in Rajasthan is primarily responsible for which of the following?
Correct answer: (B) Planning and execution of drinking water supply and rural/urban sanitation schemes.
In Rajasthan, the Public Health Engineering Department is primarily responsible for planning and executing drinking-water supply and rural and urban sanitation schemes.
Explanation
PHED is the department linked to water supply infrastructure, not to hospitals or industrial regulation. Rajasthan PHED plans, designs, constructs, operates and maintains drinking-water supply schemes for both rural and urban areas, implements Jal Jeevan Mission in rural areas, and assists urban local bodies with AMRUT water projects. The official PHED About Us page describes the department's commitment to provide potable water to every citizen of Rajasthan and safe drinking water even in remote places, despite scarce water resources, erratic rainfall, a depleting water table and water-quality issues such as fluoride and salinity. PHED's core mandate is drinking-water supply and related sanitation support.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Construction of public hospitals and health centres belongs to the medical and health administration, while PHED's work is tied to water supply and sanitation infrastructure.
- (C) Regulating groundwater extraction is a water-resource and groundwater-authority function, whereas PHED is concerned with delivering drinking-water schemes.
- (D) Industrial per capita water norms are not PHED's primary field; the department focuses on drinking-water supply and sanitation rather than industrial water regulation.
Concept
Rajasthan administrative geography connects departments with public-service delivery on the ground. RAS preparation commonly treats water scarcity, potable-water delivery and urban-rural service infrastructure as central Rajasthan governance themes.