Lok Sabha Question No. 2696 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-22
Subject: Study on Quality of Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Chandrani Murmu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2696 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.12.2022

## STUDY ON QUALITY OF WATER

## 2696.  MS. CHANDRANI MURMU:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted any study to determine the quality of drinking water and water used for farming in mining and industrial area particularly in Odisha;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to tackle possible health hazard due to use of contaminated water for drinking and farming;
- (d) whether  there  exists  any  law  which  regulates  industries  from  drawing  water  from  open sources like river and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  permissible  limit  on  quantity  of  water  that  can  be  drawn  from  river  per  day  and allocation of water for industries in Keonjhar HPC?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) to (c) As reported by State, as on 20.12.2022, district-wise detail of habitations having chemical contamination in drinking water sources in Odisha is annexed.

'Water'  being  a  state  subject  planning,  approval  and  implementation  of  drinking  water supply schemes, lies with state/UT governments. To make provision of tap water supply in adequate  quantity,  of  prescribed  quality  and  on  regular  &  long-term  basis  to  every  rural household by 2024, since August, 2019, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal.

Under  the  JJM,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards'  BIS:10500  standards  have  been  adopted  as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery. Water safety has been one of the key priorities under the JJM since its inception. States are advised to strictly ensure supply of safe drinking water as per these norms. Following measures have been taken under JJM to facilitate action on water quality aspects at state level -

- While allocating the funds to States/ UTs, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.
- The 'Drinking Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance Framework' was devised and disseminated to states in October 2021.

- To  facilitate  implementation  of  the  above  said  Framework,  more  than  2000  water quality testing laboratories have been set up in the country. Besides this, States/ UTs to identify and train five persons, preferably women from every village for testing the water samples through Field Test Kits (FTKs) and so far, 16.13 lakh women have been trained.
- To  enable  States/  UTs  to  test  water  samples  for  water  quality,  and  for  sample collection,  reporting,  monitoring  and  surveillance  of  drinking  water  sources,  an online JJM - Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) portal has been developed.
- Under JJM, while planning for potable water supply to household through tap water connection, priority is given to quality-affected habitations. Since, planning, implementation and commissioning of piped water supply scheme based on a safe water source takes time, purely as an interim measure, States/ UTs have been advised to  install  community  water  purification  plants  (CWPPs)  especially  in  Arsenic  and Fluoride affected habitations to provide potable water to every household at the rate of 8-10  litre per capita per day  (lpcd)  to  meet  their  drinking  and  cooking requirements.  In  Odisha,  CWPPs  have  been  installed  in  all  the  36  habitations reported to have Fluoride contaminations beyond permissible limits in drinking water sources.

States/UTs have been directed to undertake testing of water quality on a periodic basis and take remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of  prescribed  quality  standards  (BIS:10500).  As  reported  by  States/UTs,  as  on  20/12/22, more than 26.85 lakh water samples have been tested in the water testing laboratories and 57.37 lakh water samples through the Field-Testing Kits, in 2022-23.

The  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  generates  ground  water  quality  data  on  a regional  scale  during  various  scientific  studies  and  ground  water  quality  monitoring throughout the country. These studies indicate the occurrence of Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrate, Iron  and  Heavy  Metals  beyond  the  BIS  permissible  limits  in  isolated  pockets  in  various parts of the country.

(d) & (e) Proposals for drawing of water by industries from open source like river, as and when  received  in  Central  Water  Commission,  are  examined  considering  the  net  water availability at the point of drawal and share of the concerned basin States in the water of the concerned  river  basin  from  where  the  water  is  proposed  to  be  drawn  by  the  industries. Shares of the basin States in a river basin are determined either by agreement among basin States or by decision of the River Water Disputes Tribunal, if any.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an organization under Ministry of Environment, Forest  &  Climate  Change,  has  informed  that  to  cater  to  the  issue  of  water  scarcity  and minimize the use of water in industries, CPCB has incorporated the provision to limit water consumption  and  wastewater  generation  in  industries.  Limit  of  water  consumption  is prescribed for Thermal Power Plant, Jute Processing Industry. The wastewater generation limit is defined for Sugar Industry, Starch Industry, Coal washeries, Dairy Industries, Edible Oil and Vanaspati, Tanneries, Petroleum Oil Refinery, and Paint Industry.

*****

## Annex referred in the reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2696 to be answered on 22.12.2022.

## District-wise number of habitations affected with chemical contamination in drinking water sources in Odisha

(As on 20.12.2022)

| S. No.   | District      | Number of quality-affected habitations   | Number of quality-affected habitations   | Number of quality-affected habitations   | Number of quality-affected habitations   | Number of quality-affected habitations   |
|----------|---------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|          |               | Fluoride                                 | Fluoride                                 | Iron                                     | Salinity                                 | Nitrate                                  |
|          |               | Total No.                                | Covered with CWPP                        |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 1.       | Balangir      | 10                                       | 10                                       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        |
| 2.       | Bargarh       | -                                        | -                                        | 15                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 3.       | Boudh         | 8                                        | 8                                        | 6                                        | -                                        | -                                        |
| 4.       | Cuttack       | -                                        | -                                        | 25                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 5.       | Gajapati      | -                                        | -                                        | 68                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 6.       | Ganjam        | -                                        | -                                        | 8                                        | 9                                        | -                                        |
| 7.       | Jagatsinghpur | -                                        | -                                        | 87                                       | 1                                        | -                                        |
| 8.       | Jharsuguda    | -                                        | -                                        | 3                                        | -                                        | -                                        |
| 9.       | Kalahandi     | 5                                        | 5                                        | 6                                        | -                                        | 1                                        |
| 10.      | Kandhamal     | -                                        | -                                        | 403                                      | -                                        | -                                        |
| 11.      | Khordha       | -                                        | -                                        | 54                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 12.      | Koraput       | -                                        | -                                        | 467                                      | -                                        | -                                        |
| 13.      | Malkangiri    | 5                                        | 5                                        | 292                                      | -                                        | 2                                        |
| 14.      | Mayurbhanj    | 4                                        | 4                                        | 17                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 15.      | Nabarangapur  | -                                        | -                                        | 21                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 16.      | Nayagarh      | 2                                        | 2                                        | 11                                       | -                                        | 3                                        |
| 17.      | Puri          | -                                        | -                                        | 75                                       | 12                                       | -                                        |
| 18.      | Rayagada      | 1                                        | 1                                        | 109                                      | -                                        | -                                        |
| 19.      | Subarnapur    | 1                                        | 1                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | -                                        |
| 20.      | Sundargarh    | -                                        | -                                        | 242                                      | -                                        | -                                        |
| Total    | Total         | 36                                       | 36                                       | 1,911                                    | 22                                       | 6                                        |

Source: JJM-IMIS

Note: No other habitations have been reported by the Odisha State as being affected with other chemical contaminants.