Lok Sabha Question No. 650 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-06
Subject: Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2024
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Shri P C Mohan, Shri Tapir Gao, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Shri Yogender Chandolia, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Shri Khagen Murmu, Shri Mahesh Kashyap, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana, Shri Tejasvi Surya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 650

ANSWERED ON 06.02.2025

## ANNUAL GROUND WATER QUALITY REPORT, 2024

| 650.   | SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL                 | DR. BHOLA SINGH             |
|--------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------|
|        | SHRI P C MOHAN                     | DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND        |
|        | SHRI TEJASVI SURYA                 | SHRI P P CHAUDHARY          |
|        | SHRILUMBARAM                       | DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA    |
|        | SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI      | SHRI YOGENDER CHANDOLIA     |
|        | SHRI JASWANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR | SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI |
|        | SMT. SMITAUDAYWAGH                 | SHRIDINESHBHAIMAKWANA       |
|        | SHRI TAPIR GAO                     | SHRIMAHESH KASHYAP          |
|        | SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB            | DR. RAJESH MISHRA           |
|        | SHRIKHAGENMURMU                    |                             |

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the key findings of the Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2024, particularly regarding newly identified contaminants and critical areas requiring immediate intervention thereof in the country including Palghar and Jalgaon Parliamentary Constituencies in Maharashtra;
- (b) whether any comparison has been made with the data of previous year to identify trends in groundwater contamination  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  remedial  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the Government in this regard;
- (c)  whether  any  assessment  has  been  conducted  regarding  the  effectiveness  of  existing  groundwater  quality improvement initiatives and if so, the details and outcomes thereof;
- (d) whether any framework has been established for community and private sector participation in groundwater quality management and if so, the details thereof along with the outcome thereof;
- (e) the details of the contaminants identified in ground water in Palghar district of Maharashtra; and
- (f)  the  efforts  being  made  to  filter  the  groundwater  in  Sidhi  Parliamentary  Constituency  which  has  coal deposits in a larger area causing extreme decline in the water quality?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

- (a) The Annual Groundwater Quality Report 2024 prepared by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is based on the ground water sampling and analysis from 15,259 monitoring locations spread across the country. The major objective of the report is to study various water quality parameters like Electrical Conductivity(EC), Fluoride, Arsenic, heavy metals, Nitrate etc. in groundwater used for drinking and agriculture purposes. The

report has found the presence of above contaminants beyond the prescribed limits for human consumption in isolated pockets of some States/UTs. Apart from that, no new emerging pollutants have been identified in the report.

The detailed report containing the details of various ground water quality parameters, regions where contamination  is  reported,  various  factors  having  a  bearing  on  contamination  etc.  can  be  viewed  at https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/17363272771910393216file.pdf

Further,  as  per  the  Annual  Ground  Water  Quality  report  2024,  no  new  contaminants  have  been identified  in  the  Palghar  and  Jalgaon  Parliamentary  Constituency  of  Maharashtra.   However,  in  Jalgaon Constituency,  nitrate  has  been  observed  in  the  ground  water  samples  from  a  few  locations  (Naseerabad, Kasoda, Adgaon,Lasgaon, Varkhedi-1 & Nimjharia) above the BIS permissible limit for drinking water.

(b) & (c) A  comparative analysis of  groundwater contamination trends has been carried out based on data from previous years vis'-a-vis' the data available in the Ground Water Quality Report 2024. The results for key contaminants such as nitrate, fluoride, and Electrical Conductivity (EC) between 2019 and 2023 indicate that the percentage of samples having EC beyond permissible limit has increased from 6.65% to 7.25%, that of Fluoride has increased from 7.21% to 9.03% and with regard to Nitrate, the proportion has remained constant at 19.8%

Further regarding remedial measures to combat ground water contamination, it is to submit that Water is a state subject and the responsibility of ground water management, including taking initiatives for improving ground  water  quality  and  mitigate  the  contamination  issue,  lies  primarily  with  the  state  governments.  The Central  Government  complements  the  efforts  of  the  States  by  providing  technical  support  and  financial assistance through its various centrally sponsored schemes.

However, the Central Government in this direction has taken several steps in this direction and some of  the  important  ones  are  regular  sharing  of  ground  water  quality  data  available  with  CGWB  through Yearbooks, Half-yearly Bulletins and fortnightly Alerts etc.; Taking up special studies in ground water quality affected  areas;  Taking  up  construction  of  Arsenic  safe  wells  by  CGWB  in  the  affected  areas  using  the innovative  cement  sealing  technology;  Implementing   comprehensive  pollution  control  program  by  Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) by setting industry specific discharge standards, making Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) mandatory for Industries, Online continuous monitoring of Discharge etc.

Moreover, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) -  Har  Ghar  Jal,  since  August  2019,  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, wherein Bureau of Indian Standards' BIS:10500 standards have been adopted as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery.

As a result of all these cumulative efforts, it is reported that from August 2019 to January 2025 the number of Arsenic and Fluoride affected habitations in the country have declined from 14,020 to 314 and from 7,996 to 254 respectively. These remaining habitations have also been provided clean, & safe drinking water through Community Water Purifier Plants (CWPPs).

(d) The central government has taken several important steps to ensure large scale community and private sector participation for turning ground water management into a truly peoples' movement. The notable among them are:

- i. The government of India is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana in 80 water stressed districts across 7 states  which  has  community led sustainable management of ground water resources and demand management as its core theme.
- ii. Central Ground  Water  Board  organizes various Public Interaction Programs  (PIP),  Mass Awareness  Programs  (MAP),  Tier  II  and  Tier  -III  programmes  on  local  ground  water  issues, including educating the public about the impacts of water contamination and promoting sustainable practices to maintain water quality.
- iii. Under JJM, with a view to involve community at large and to spread awareness regarding water quality , five persons, preferably women, are identified and trained from every village for testing the water samples through Field Test Kits (FTKs). Thus far, more than 24 lakh women have been trained across the country.
- iv. The Government is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country since 2019 with active community  involvement.  Jal  Shakti  Kendras  (JSKs)  have  been  set  up  under  Abhiyan  in  various districts  of  the  country  for  interacting  with  local  community  and  dissemination  of  water  related knowledge.
- v. To  further  strengthen  the  momentum  of  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan,  Jal  Sanchay  Jan  Bhagidari:  A Community-Driven Path to Water Sustainability in India has been launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister on September 6, 2024, in Surat, Gujarat whose main objective is to ensure that every drop of  water  is  conserved  through  collective  efforts,  following  a  whole-of-  society  and  whole-ofgovernment approach.
- vi. Further, the Ministry of Jal Shakti and its organizations, work with a very large number of NonGovernmental  Organizations  and  academic  institutions  to  promote  public  awareness  and  for enhancing water resource management in the country. The Ministry has entered into several MoUs with NGOs working at the grassroots level.

(e) A total of 36 nos. of samples were analysed for Palghar district all of which were found to be within the permissible limits set by BIS.

(f) CGWB carries out ground water quality monitoring every  year throughout Madhya Pradesh including Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency. No such decline with respect to ground water quality was reported in Sidhi Parliamentary  Constituency.  Further,  as  per  the  information  available  on  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  dashboard,  no drinking  water  quality  affected  habitations  have  been  reported  in  Sidhi.  However,  under  JJM  and  other schemes  provision  of  safe  tap  water  for  drinking  has  been  made  in  90,487  households  out  of  1.92  lakh households.

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