Lok Sabha Question No. 3653 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-10
Subject: Ground Water Contamination
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Imtiaz Jaleel Syed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3653

## ANSWERED ON 10.08.2023

## GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION

## 3653. SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  India  is  the  worst  groundwater  contaminated  country  in  the  world  as  more  than  twenty States  of  the  country  are  fluoride  or  arsenic  affected  which  is  causing  cancer,  skin  diseases  and crippling disease besides affecting reproductive health of the inhabitants;

(b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  details  of  districts  which  are  arsenic  or  fluoride  affected particularly in the State of Maharashtra;

(c) the remedial measures taken/schemes/projects implemented by the Government to lessen the effect of arsenic or fluoride and to provide safe and clean drinking water to the inhabitants of affected areas; and

(d) the details of funds allocated/utilised for this purpose during the last three years and the current year, scheme and year-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) & (b) No  such  information  is  available.  The  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  generates ground  water  quality  data  annually  on  regional  scale  through  ground  water  quality  monitoring throughout the country. This monitoring indicates the occurrence of Fluoride and Arsenic beyond the BIS  (Bureau  of  Indian  Standards)  permissible  limits  for  human  consumption  in  isolated  pockets  in certain parts of the country. Details are given at Annexure I . In Maharashtra, no Arsenic contaminants have been reported, however, Fluoride contaminants have been reported in 22 districts (isolated pockets) in Maharashtra. Details are given at Annexure II .

(c) & (d) Water being a State subject planning, approval and implementation of drinking water supply schemes,  lies  with  State/UT  Governments,  however,  Central  Government  is  implementing  Jal  Jeevan Mission  (JJM)  -  Har  Ghar  Jal  in  rural  areas  and  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in urban areas to provide safe water to citizens of the country.

Government of India is  implementing 'Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  -  Har  Ghar  Jal',  since  August, 2019, in partnership with States, to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household in the country. Under JJM, while  allocating  the  funds  to  States/  UTs,  10%  weightage  is  given  to  the  population  residing  in habitations affected by chemical contaminants including Arsenic and Fluoride. Fund released to States/ UTs  under  JJM  can  also  be  utilized  for  taking  up  schemes  in  quality-affected  habitations  including Arsenic and Fluoride-affected, on priority.

Further, States/ UTs have been advised to plan and implement piped water supply schemes based on alternative safe water sources for the villages with water quality issues. Since, planning, implementation and commissioning of piped water supply scheme 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)  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 addition, as reported by States/UTs as on date, safe drinking water has been made available in all Arsenic-affected and Fluoride affected habitations.

Year-wise  details  of  central  funds  allocated,  fund  utilization  reported  under  Jal  Jeevan  Mission (JJM) during 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, as on 07/08/2023, is given at Annexure III. .

AMRUT was launched by Central Government on June 25, 2015, in 500 selected cities across the country covering around 60% of the Urban Population and is being implemented in collaboration with States/UTs. AMRUT focuses on development of basic urban infrastructure in the selected cities in the sectors of Water Supply, Sewerage and Septage Management, Storm Water Drainage, Non-Motorised Urban Transport, and Permeable Green Spaces & Parks. Year-wise details of Central Assistance released and utilized ((Utililization certificate - UC received) under AMRUT during 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 are given at Annexure IV.

Further, AMRUT 2.0 has been taken upwith target of making cities water secure through providing water  tap  connections  to  all  households  in  all  of  about  4902  Urban  Local  bodies  and  provision  of universal  coverage  of  Sewerage  and  Septage  management  in  500  AMRUT  cities.  CA  released  and Utilised (UC received) under AMRUT 2.0 during 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 is given at Annexure IV.

In  addition, CGWB has identified Arsenic safe deeper aquifer zones and Arsenic safe wells have been constructed using innovative cement sealing technique in parts of West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.  So  far,  522  exploratory  wells  (40  in  Bihar,  188  in  West  Bengal  and  294  in  Uttar  Pradesh) tapping  Arsenic  safe  aquifers  have  been  constructed  (till  March  2022)  and  handed  over  to  concerned States for use. In addition, the innovative cement sealing technique has been shared with the States for their use.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3653  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  10.08.2023  REGARDING  'GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION'.

## States-wise Number of Partly Affected Districts with Fluoride and Arsenic Contaminants (isolated pockets) in Ground Water of India

| S.No.              | State/ UT             | Fluoride (above 1.5 mg/l)                | Arsenic (above 0.01 mg/l)                |
|--------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1                  | Andhra Pradesh        | 19                                       | 7                                        |
| 2                  | Telangana             | 29                                       | 1                                        |
| 3                  | Assam                 | 17                                       | 21                                       |
| 4                  | Bihar                 | 17                                       | 27                                       |
| 5 Chhattisgarh     |                       | 23                                       | 4                                        |
| 6 Delhi            | 8                     |                                          | 5                                        |
| 7                  | Gujarat               | 30                                       | 12                                       |
| 8 Haryana          |                       | 21                                       | 18                                       |
| 9 Himachal Pradesh | 2                     |                                          | 1                                        |
| 10 Jammu &Kashmir  |                       | 4                                        | 3                                        |
| 11 Jharkhand       | 17                    |                                          | 4                                        |
| 12                 | Karnataka             | 31                                       | 3                                        |
| 13                 |                       | 6                                        | 1                                        |
| 14 Madhya          | Kerala Pradesh        | 44                                       | 9                                        |
| 15 Maharashtra     | 22                    |                                          | ---                                      |
| 16 Manipur         |                       | 1                                        | 2                                        |
| 17 Meghalaya       |                       | 5                                        | ----                                     |
| 18                 | Nagaland              | 3                                        | ----                                     |
| 19                 | 26                    |                                          | 5                                        |
| Odisha 20 Punjab   |                       | 19                                       | 17                                       |
| 21 Rajasthan       |                       | 33                                       | 10                                       |
| 22                 | Tamil Nadu            | 30                                       | 14                                       |
| 23                 |                       | 3                                        | 3                                        |
| 24                 | Tripura Uttar Pradesh | 42                                       | 45                                       |
| 25 Uttarakhand     |                       | 1                                        | 5                                        |
| 26 West            | Bengal                | 12                                       | 11                                       |
| 27                 |                       | 1                                        | 1                                        |
| 28                 | Daman &Diu Puducherry | --                                       | 1                                        |
|                    | Total                 | Parts of 466 districts in 27 States &UTs | Parts of 230 districts in 25 States &UTs |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3653  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  10.08.2023  REGARDING  'GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION'

Partly Affected Districts with Fluoride Contaminants (isolated pockets) in Ground Water of Maharashtra

| State/UT    | Fluoride (above 1.5 mg/l)                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|-------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Maharashtra | Ahmednagar, Amravati, Beed, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalna, Nagpur, Nanded, Parbhani, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Wardha, Washim, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nandurbar |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) & (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3653 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.08.2023 REGARDING 'GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION'

Jal Jeevan Mission: Central fund allocated, drawn and reported utilization in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24

## [As on 07/08/2023]

## (Amount in Rs. Crore)

| Year     | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   | Central share        | Central share                       | Expenditure under State share   |
|----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------------|-------------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Year     | Opening Balance | Allocation      | Released        | Total Fund Available | Utilization reported by States/ UTs | Expenditure under State share   |
| 2020-21  | 6,432           | 23,033          | 10,920          | 17,352               | 12,540                              | 7,800                           |
| 2021-22  | 4,813           | 92,308          | 40,009          | 44,822               | 25,843                              | 18,532                          |
| 2022-23  | 19,319          | 1,00,789        | 54,742          | 74,061               | 50,380                              | 39,576                          |
| 2023-24* | 23,105          | 1,32,937        | 13,710          | 36,815               | 25,449                              | 15,958                          |

Source: JJM-IMIS

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) & (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3653 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.08.2023 REGARDING 'GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION'.

CA released and utilised for project implementation, during last three year under AMRUT.

Amount in ₹. crores

| Financial Year      | CA Released   | UC Received   |
|---------------------|---------------|---------------|
| 2020-21             | 6,146.72      | 5,213.92      |
| 2021-22             | 6,112.89      | 4,401.88      |
| 2022-23             | 961.17        | -             |
| Current FY: 2023-24 | 991.09        | -             |

## CA released and utilised for project implementation, during last three year under AMRUT 2.0

## Amount in ₹. crores

| Financial Year      | CA Released   | UC Received   |
|---------------------|---------------|---------------|
| 2020-21             | -             | -             |
| 2021-22             | 455.78        | 68.28         |
| 2022-23             | 5,461.98      | 149.16        |
| Current FY: 2023-24 | 276.57        | -             |

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