Lok Sabha Question No. 3520 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-24
Subject: Arsenic in Ground Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3520

ANSWERED ON 24.03.2022

## ARSENIC IN GROUND WATER

## 3520.  SHRIMATI HARSIMRAT KAUR BADAL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that arsenic and heavy metals are found in ground water across the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of habitations receiving contaminated water in the country;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  in  Punjab  particularly  in  Malwa  region  ground  water comprises of uranium, arsenic, lead and heavy metals which has caused havoc in Punjab and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to reduce contamination of water in the country including Punjab?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

- (a)  The 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  including  arsenic  and  heavy  metals  beyond permissible limits (as per BIS) for human consumption in isolated pockets in various States/UTs. The details are given in Annexure-I .
- (b)  As reported by States/UTs (as on 17.03.2022) 29,517 rural habitations have been reported to have quality issues in drinking water sources. State-wise details in this regard are given at Annexure - II . Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in rural areas to provide potable tap water of prescribed quality to every rural households, prioritising quality affected habitations in the country.
- (c)  As per the data available with CGWB, in the State of Punjab, particularly in Malwa belt, arsenic in ground water beyond the permissible limit has been encountered in 3 districts viz. Mansa, Faridkot and Sangrur;  lead  from  3  districts  viz  Bathinda,  Ferozepur  and  Muktsar;  cadmium  from  4  districts  viz Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Patiala, and Sangrur; Chromium from 3 districts viz Bathinda, Mansa, and Sangrur districts; uranium from 9 districts viz Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Muktsar, Patiala and Sangrur.
- (d)  Water  being  a  State  subject,  initiatives  on  water  management,  including  its  quality  is  primarily States' responsibility; however, various steps have been taken by the Central Government for facilitating ground water quality improvement/ remediation of contamination in the drinking water in the country including Punjab. Details in this regard are given at Annexure III. Further, as per information received from Government of Punjab, the State Government has already covered 883 quality affected habitations with short term/long term measures in terms of surface water projects, arsenic-cum-iron removal plants, household  purifiers,  community  water  purification  plants  and  RO  plants  to  provide  potable  water  to affected citizens.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3520  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  24.03.2022  REGARDING  'ARSENIC  IN GROUND WATER'.

State-wise Number of Partly Affected Districts with different Contaminants in Ground Water of India

| S. No.            | State/ UT   | Arsenic (above 0.01 mg/l)   | Iron (above 1mg/l)   | Lead (above 0.01 mg/l)   | Cadmium (above 0.003 mg/l)   |   Chromium (above 0.05 mg/l) |
|-------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|----------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    | 3           | 7                           |                      |                          |                              |                            1 |
| Telangana         | 1           | 8                           | 2                    | 1                        | 1                            |                            2 |
| Assam             | 19          | 18                          |                      |                          |                              |                            3 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |             | 4                           |                      |                          |                              |                            4 |
| Bihar             | 22          | 19                          |                      |                          |                              |                            5 |
| Chhattisgarh      | 1           | 17                          | 1                    | 1                        | 1                            |                            6 |
| Delhi             | 2           |                             | 3                    | 1                        | 4                            |                            7 |
| Goa               |             | 2                           |                      |                          |                              |                            8 |
| Gujarat           | 12          | 10                          |                      |                          |                              |                            9 |
| Haryana           | 15          | 17                          | 17                   | 7                        | 1                            |                           10 |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 1           |                             |                      |                          |                              |                           11 |
| Jammu &Kashmir    | 3           | 9                           | 3                    | 1                        |                              |                           12 |
| Jharkhand         | 2           | 6                           | 1                    |                          |                              |                           13 |
| Karnataka         | 2           | 22                          |                      |                          |                              |                           14 |
| Kerala            |             | 14                          | 2                    |                          | 1                            |                           15 |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 8           | 41                          | 16                   |                          |                              |                           16 |
| Maharashtra       |             | 20                          | 19                   |                          |                              |                           17 |
| Manipur           | 2           | 4                           |                      |                          |                              |                           18 |
| Meghalaya         |             | 6                           |                      |                          |                              |                           19 |
| Nagaland          |             | 1                           |                      |                          |                              |                           20 |
| Odisha            | 1           | 30                          |                      |                          | 1                            |                           21 |
| Punjab            | 10          | 9                           | 6                    | 8                        | 10                           |                           22 |
| Rajasthan         | 1           | 33                          | 3                    |                          |                              |                           23 |
| Tamil Nadu        | 9           | 2                           | 3                    | 1                        | 5                            |                           24 |
| Tripura           |             | 4                           |                      |                          |                              |                           25 |

| 26   | Uttar Pradesh    | 28                                       | 15                                       | 10                                       | 2                                       | 3                                       |
|------|------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 27   | Uttarakhand      |                                          | 5                                        |                                          |                                         |                                         |
| 28   | West Bengal      | 9                                        | 16                                       | 6                                        | 2                                       | 2                                       |
| 29   | Andaman& Nicobar |                                          | 2                                        |                                          |                                         |                                         |
| 30   | Daman &Diu       | 1                                        |                                          |                                          |                                         |                                         |
| 31   | Puducherry       |                                          |                                          |                                          |                                         |                                         |
|      | Total            | Parts of 152 districts in 21 States& UTs | Parts of 341 districts in 27 States& UTs | Pb in parts of 92 districts in 14 States | Cd in parts of 24 districts in 9 States | Cr in parts of 29districts in 10 States |

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3520  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  24.03.2022  REGARDING  'ARSENIC  IN GROUND WATER'.

## State-wise details of rural habitations having contaminants in drinking water source

(as on 17.03.2022)

| S.               | State/UT          | 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   | Number of quality affected habitations   | Number of quality affected habitations   |
|------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| No.              | State/UT          | Fluoride                                 | Arsenic                                  | Iron                                     | Salinity                                 | Nitrate                                  | Heavy Metal                              | Total                                    |
| 1.               | Andhra Pradesh    | 86                                       | -                                        | -                                        | 6                                        | 1                                        | -                                        | 93                                       |
| 2.               | Arunachal Pradesh | -                                        | -                                        | 224                                      | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 224                                      |
| 3.               | Assam             | -                                        | 32                                       | 10,378                                   | -                                        | -                                        | 3                                        | 10,413                                   |
| 4.               | Bihar             | 1                                        | 11                                       | 450                                      | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 462                                      |
| 5.               | Chhattisgarh      | 154                                      | -                                        | 30                                       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 184                                      |
| 6.               | Jharkhand         | 48                                       | 1                                        | 59                                       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 108                                      |
| 7.               | Kerala            | 5                                        | -                                        | 61                                       | 18                                       | 8                                        | -                                        | 92                                       |
| 8.               | Madhya Pradesh    | 37                                       | -                                        | 16                                       | 5                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | 60                                       |
| 9.               | Maharashtra       | 3                                        | -                                        | 6                                        | 34                                       | 7                                        | -                                        | 50                                       |
| 10.              | Odisha            | 45                                       | -                                        | 2,031                                    | 30                                       | 6                                        | -                                        | 2,112                                    |
| 11.              | Punjab            | 180                                      | 560                                      | 7                                        | -                                        | 19                                       | 112                                      | 878                                      |
| 12.              | Rajasthan         | 188                                      | -                                        | 4                                        | 9,773                                    | 463                                      | -                                        | 10,428                                   |
| 13.              | Tripura           | -                                        | -                                        | 1,052                                    | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 1,052                                    |
| 14.              | Uttar Pradesh     | 38                                       | 107                                      | 281                                      | 79                                       | 10                                       | -                                        | 515                                      |
| 15.              | Uttarakhand       | -                                        | -                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | 4                                        |
| 16.              | West Bengal       | 127                                      | 946                                      | 1,630                                    | 72                                       | -                                        | 67                                       | 2,842                                    |
| Total            | Total             | 912                                      | 1,657                                    | 16,231                                   | 10,017                                   | 518                                      | 182                                      | 29,517                                   |
| Source: JJM-IMIS | Source: JJM-IMIS  | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         | Source: JJM-IMIS                         |

## ANNEXURE-III

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3520  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  24.03.2022  REGARDING  'ARSENIC  IN GROUND WATER'.

## Steps  taken  by  the  Central  Government  for  facilitating  ground  water  quality  improvement/ remediation of contamination in the drinking water in the country

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  in  the  country,  including  Punjab,  to  prevent  and  control  pollution  in water.

Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019, a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks of 256 districts in  India,  including  Punjab.  In  2021,  'Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan:  Catch  the  Rain' (JSA:CTR) with the theme 'Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls' was launched to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country, including Punjab, during 22nd March 2021 to 30th November 2021. The campaign was launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021. Improvement in groundwater recharge due to construction of artificial recharge structures and increased water harvesting is likely to significantly contribute towards reducing the contaminants level in the aquifer waters.

Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality to every rural household in the country, including Punjab, by 2024. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to house-holds, priority is given to quality-affected habitations. While allocating the funds to States/ UTs in a particular financial year, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants including arsenic and fluoride, as on 31st March of the preceding financial year.

Since, planning, implementation and commissioning of piped water supply schemes based on a safe water source may  take  time,  purely  as  an  interim  measure,  States/  UTs  have  been  advised  to  install  community  water purification plants (CWPPs) in such 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.

Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation had launched a National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM) on 22 nd March,  2017  as  a  part  of  National  Rural  Drinking  Water  Programme  (NRDWP),  which  has  now  been subsumed  under  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  to  provide  safe  drinking  water  to  27,544  arsenic/  fluoride  affected  rural habitations (as on 18.08.2016) in the country, including Punjab.

Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched on 25th June, 2015 in selected 500 cities of the country, including Punjab, with focus on development of urban infrastructure in various sectors including water supply, States/UTs have the option to take projects on special water supply arrangements for difficult areas, hill and coastal cities, including those having water quality problems.

Under the National Aquifer Mapping Programme (NAQUIM) of CGWB, special attention is being given to the aspect of ground water quality including contamination by toxic substances such as arsenic in ground water.

CGWB has constructed several exploratory and observation wells in the country tapping the arsenic safe deeper aquifer  zones  delineated  through  exploration  aided  detailed  aquifer  mapping  under  National  Aquifer  Mapping programme.  Successful wells have been handed over to the State Governments for their purposeful utilization. Further,  CGWB  is  providing  technical  assistance  to  the  States  by  sharing  the  cement  sealing  technology  for tapping contamination free aquifers in Gangetic flood plains.

Guidelines have been issued by Government of India for control and regulation of groundwater extraction with pan-India  applicability  on  24  September  2020.   The  guidelines  include  suitable  provisions  on  measures  to  be adopted to control groundwater pollution.

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