Lok Sabha Question No. 2617 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-22
Subject: Chemical Contamination of Ground Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2617

ANSWERED ON 22.12.2022

## CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER

## 2617 SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that there is large scale chemical contamination of ground water in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Bihar, district-wise;

(c)  whether  the  Government  has  mapped  the  hotspots  of  ground  water  contamination  and  the chemicals found therein and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) whether the Government has a comprehensive policy to treat contaminated ground water and to check the flow of chemicals in water on a daily basis and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  generates  ground  water  quality  data  of  the  country  on  a regional scale  as part of its ground water quality  monitoring program and various scientific studies. These  studies  indicate  the  occurrence  of  contaminants  such  as  Fluoride,  Arsenic,  Nitrate,  Iron  and Heavy Metals beyond permissible limits (as per BIS) for human consumption in isolated pockets in certain States / UTs.

(b) &  (c) State-wise numbers of partly affected districts with different contaminants (as on 2021) in Ground Water in the country including Bihar is given at Annexure . The report on ground water levels and  quality  in  the  country  is  compiled  in  the  form  of  ground  water  year  book  which  is  hosted  on CGWB website and can be accessed through URL - http://cgwb.gov.in/GW-Year-Book-State.html

(d) Water  being  a  State  subject,  initiatives  for  ground  water  management,  including  its  quality  is primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  States,  however,  various  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  Central Government for facilitating ground water quality improvement/ remediation of contamination in the country.

Commonly  observed  contaminants  such  as  Arsenic,  Fluoride  and  Iron  are  geogenic  in  nature, whereas  contaminants  such  as  nitrates,  phosphates,  heavy  metals  etc.  owe  their  origin  to  various human activities including domestic sewage, agricultural practices and industrial effluents which are mainly anthropogenic.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution  Control  Committees  (SPCBs/PCCs)  is  implementing  the  provisions  of  the  Water (Prevention & Control) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control pollution in water.

This Department has issued guidelines for control and regulation of groundwater extraction with pan-India applicability notified on 24 September 2020.  The guidelines include suitable provisions on measures to be adopted to ensure groundwater free from pollution.

The  water  pollution  also  owe  its  origin  to  contamination  of  surface  water  sources  for  which various  efforts  have  been  made  in  the  country  by  installing  Sewage  Treatment  Plants,  Effluent Treatment Plants and better system of sewage networks etc. However, the adverse effects of the water pollution  can  be  addressed  to  a  large  extent  if  safe  water  is  made  available  to  public  for  which  Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is being implemented in rural areas since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality to every rural household by 2024. Further, National Water Quality Sub-Mission  (NWQSM)  was  launched  on  22 nd March,  2017  as  a  part  of  National  Rural  Drinking Water  Programme  (NRDWP)  which  has  been  subsumed  in  JJM  to  provide  safe  drinking  water  to 27,544 arsenic/fluoride affected rural habitations in the country.

Similarly, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)  scheme is being implemented since June 25, 2015, in selected 500 cities and towns across the country which focuses on development of basic urban infrastructure in the AMRUT cities, such as water supply, sewerage & septage management, storm water drainage, green spaces & parks, and non-motorized urban transport. Further, AMRUT- 2.0 was launched on 01 st October 2021 for the period of 05 years (FY 2021-22 to 2025-26),  with  the  objective  of  providing  universal  coverage  of  water  supply  through  functional household tap connection in all statutory towns in the country.

ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) & (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2617  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK SABHA  ON  22.12.2022  REGARDING  'CHEMICAL

## CONTAMINATION OF GROUND WATER'.

States Wise Number of Partly Affected Districts with different Contaminants in Ground Water of

India

| S. N o.   | State/ UT           | Salinity (EC above 3000 micro mhos/ cm) (EC : Electrical Conductivity)   | Fluo ride (abo ve 1.5 mg/l)               | Nitr ate (abo ve 45 mg/l )                | Arsen ic (abov e 0.01 mg/l)               | Iron (abov e 1mg/l )                     | Lead (above 0.01 mg/l)                    | Cadmiu m (above 0.003 mg/l)              | Chromi um (above 0.05 mg/l)              | Uraniu m (above 0.03 mg/l)               |
|-----------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh      | 12                                                                       | 12                                        | 13                                        | 7                                         | 12                                       | 2                                         | 1                                        |                                          | 8                                        |
| 2         | Telangana 9         | 10                                                                       |                                           | 10                                        | 1                                         | 9                                        | 4 1                                       | 1                                        |                                          | 6                                        |
| 3         | Assam               | 17                                                                       |                                           |                                           | 21                                        | 25                                       | 9                                         |                                          | 2                                        |                                          |
|           | 4 Arunachal Pradesh |                                                                          |                                           |                                           |                                           | 6                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 5         | Bihar               | 4                                                                        | 13                                        | 32                                        | 27                                        | 35                                       | 9                                         | 3                                        |                                          | 10                                       |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh 1      |                                                                          | 23                                        | 24                                        | 4                                         | 22                                       | 5                                         | 1                                        | 1                                        | 4                                        |
| 7         | Delhi               | 8                                                                        | 7                                         | 9                                         | 3                                         | 5                                        | 3                                         | 2                                        | 5                                        | 4                                        |
| 8         | Goa                 |                                                                          |                                           |                                           |                                           | 2                                        |                                           |                                          | 1                                        |                                          |
| 9         | Gujarat             | 26                                                                       | 27                                        | 32                                        | 12                                        | 14                                       | 1                                         |                                          |                                          | 5                                        |
| 10        | Haryana             | 18                                                                       | 21                                        | 21                                        | 17                                        | 20                                       | 17                                        | 8                                        | 4                                        | 19                                       |
| 11        | Himachal Pradesh    |                                                                          | 2                                         | 7                                         | 1                                         | 5                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          | 1                                        |
| 12        | Jammu& Kashmir      |                                                                          | 3                                         | 9                                         | 3                                         | 10                                       | 3                                         | 1                                        | 1                                        |                                          |
| 13        | Jharkhand           |                                                                          | 16                                        | 23                                        | 4                                         | 23                                       | 25                                        |                                          |                                          | 4                                        |
| 14        | Karnataka           | 29                                                                       | 30                                        | 29                                        | 3                                         | 22                                       | 1                                         |                                          | 7                                        | 8                                        |
| 15        | Kerala              | 4                                                                        | 5                                         | 14                                        | 1                                         | 15                                       | 6                                         | 7                                        | 1                                        |                                          |
| 16        | Madhya Pradesh      | 20                                                                       | 44                                        | 51                                        | 9                                         | 47                                       | 16                                        |                                          | 2                                        | 12                                       |
| 17        | Maharashtra         | 28                                                                       | 20                                        | 30                                        |                                           | 24                                       | 20                                        | 1                                        |                                          | 3                                        |
| 18        | Manipur             |                                                                          | 1                                         |                                           | 2                                         | 4                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 19        | Meghalaya           |                                                                          | 5                                         |                                           |                                           | 7                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
|           | 20 Nagaland         |                                                                          | 3                                         |                                           |                                           | 5                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 21        | Odisha              | 18                                                                       | 26                                        | 29                                        | 5                                         | 30                                       | 4                                         |                                          | 2                                        | 5                                        |
| 22        | Punjab              | 12                                                                       | 19                                        | 23                                        | 17                                        | 16                                       | 12                                        | 8                                        | 11                                       | 20                                       |
| 23        | Rajasthan           | 31                                                                       | 33                                        | 33                                        | 10                                        | 33                                       | 14                                        |                                          |                                          | 28                                       |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu          | 29                                                                       | 29                                        | 32                                        | 14                                        | 16                                       | 6                                         | 1                                        | 7                                        | 14                                       |
| 25        | Tripura             |                                                                          | 3                                         |                                           | 3                                         | 8                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 26        | Uttar Pradesh       | 14                                                                       | 40                                        | 62                                        | 39                                        | 68                                       | 19                                        | 2                                        | 17                                       | 35                                       |
| 27        | Uttarakhand         | 1                                                                        | 1                                         | 4                                         | 5                                         | 8                                        | 8                                         |                                          | 2                                        |                                          |
| 28        | West Bengal         | 9                                                                        | 12                                        | 16                                        | 11                                        | 21                                       | 7                                         | 2                                        | 3                                        | 1                                        |
| 29        | Andaman& Nicobar    | 1                                                                        |                                           |                                           |                                           | 3                                        |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 30        | Daman &Diu          | 1                                                                        |                                           | 2                                         | 1                                         |                                          |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 31        | Puducherry          |                                                                          |                                           | 2                                         | 1                                         |                                          |                                           |                                          |                                          |                                          |
|           | Total               | Parts of 275 districts in 20 states &UTs                                 | Parts of 422 district s in 26 states &UTs | Parts of 507 distric ts in 23 states &UTs | Parts of 221 district s in 25 states &UTs | Parts of 515 districts in 29 states& UTs | Pb in parts of 191 districts in 21 states | Cd in parts of 34 districts in 11 states | Cr in parts of 71 districts in 18 states | U in parts of 187 districts in 18 states |