Lok Sabha Question No. 2206 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-04
Subject: Contamination of Drinking Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2206 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.07.2019

## Contamination of Drinking Water

## † 2206. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the States affected by drinking water contamination caused by fluoride and arsenic;

(b) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to provide safe drinking water to such States including Jharkhand and Bihar;

(c) whether the Government is providing any special assistance to these States in this regard;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the targets set for these States/ Union Territories?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)

(a) Number of Habitations affected by Arsenic and Fluoride in different States/ UTs as reported  by  the  States  into  IntegratedManagement  Information  System  (IMIS)  of  the Department as on 30thJune, 2019 is placed at Annexure-I

(b)to (e)Drinking water supply is a state subject. It is the State Governments which plan, design,  approve,  execute  and  operate  &  maintain  the  schemes  for  providing  safe drinking  water  to  rural  population.  However,  this  Ministry  provides  technical  and financial assistance to States  under  National  Rural  Drinking  Water  Programme (NRDWP) for improving the coverage of safe drinking water in rural areas.

During March 2016, with the recommendation of NITI Aayog, an amount of Rs. 1000 crore  to  various  State  Governments  was  released  for  installation  of  communitywater purification plants in arsenic/fluoride affected habitations including 1.5 crore to Govt. of Jharkhand and 22.83 crore to Govt. of Bihar.

In  addition  to  this,  the  Ministry  of  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  had  launched theNational Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM) on 22ndMarch 2017 under NRDWP toprovide  safe  drinking  water  to  27,544  arsenic  /  fluoride  affected  rural  habitations inthecountry  during  a  span  of  4  years  including  1128  and  2120  Arsenic/Fluoride affected habitations of Jharkhand and Bihar respectively.

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## Annexure I referred in the Statement referred in the Reply to Lok Sabha

Number of Habitations affected by Arsenic and Fluoride in different States/ UTs as reported by the States into Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the Department as on 30th June, 2019

| S. No.         | State/UT     | No. Of Fluoride affected rural habitations   | No. Of Arsenic affected rural habitations   |
|----------------|--------------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| 1 Andhra       | Pradesh 429  | 0                                            |                                             |
| 2 Assam        | 256          |                                              | 4,293                                       |
| 3 Bihar        | 705          |                                              | 804                                         |
| 4 Chhattisgarh | 281          |                                              | 0                                           |
| Haryana        | 87           | 0                                            | 5                                           |
| 6 Jammu&       | 4            | 0                                            |                                             |
| 7 Jharkhand    | 197          | 19                                           |                                             |
| 8 Karnataka    | 262          |                                              | 2                                           |
| 9 Kerala       | 32           |                                              | 0                                           |
| 10 Madhya      | Pradesh 143  | 0                                            |                                             |
| 11 Maharashtra | 53           |                                              | 0                                           |
| 12 Odisha      | 92           |                                              | 0                                           |
| 13 Punjab      | 330          |                                              | 660                                         |
| 14 Rajasthan   | 4,177        |                                              | 0                                           |
| 15 Uttar       | Pradesh 119  |                                              | 650                                         |
| 16 West        | Bengal 1,359 |                                              | 7,544                                       |
|                | Total        | 8,526                                        | 13,972                                      |

Source: IMIS, DDWS