Prahlad Singh Patel also raised concerns about depleting water levels and contamination of ground water while participating in the discussion on Demands for Grants of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry.
Noting that he might sound conservative, he quoted Ayurveda principles to say, "faeces decompose quickly if it gets mixed with soil and still quicker if mixed with ash".
"However, if it mixes with water, it will harm water in a big way," he said in the Lok Sabha.