Lok Sabha Question No. 3418 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Survey on Underground Water Quality
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Appalanaidu Kalisetti

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3418

ANSWERED ON 20.03.2025

## SURVEY ON UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY

3418. SHRI APPALANAIDU KALISETTI:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  recent  nationwide  survey  on  underground  water  quality, including assessment parameters and findings and if so, the details thereof, State and district-wise;
- (b)  the  number  of  groundwater  sources  tested  and  found  contaminated  with  fluoride,  arsenic,  nitrate,  iron, heavy metals and salinity during the last five years and the current year, State and district-wise;
- (c) the number of people affected by poor quality of groundwater, including those suffering from waterborne diseases and chronic illnesses, State and district-wise;
- (d) the number of rural and urban households relying on contaminated groundwater along with the measures taken/being taken to provide safe alternatives, State and district-wise;
- (e)  the  budgetary  allocation  released  and  utilized  for  groundwater  quality  improvement  projects  during  the said period, State and district-wise; and

(f) the number of water treatment and decontamination projects undertaken, their implementation status and the number of fluoride and arsenic affected habitations, State and district-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a)  &  (b) The  Annual Groundwater Quality Report 2024 has been released by the Central Ground Water Board  (CGWB)  based  on  the  ground  water  sampling  and  analysis  data  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.  The  report  has found the presence of some contaminants beyond the prescribed limits for human consumption in isolated pockets of some States/UTs. Apart from that, the report indicates that ground water in the country is largely suitable for drinking and agricultural purposes. State-wise data on contamination reported during 2023 and 2019 for some of the important parameters is provided in Annexure -I & Annexure -II respectively.

(c) Consumption  of  drinking  water  having  contaminants  like  Arsenic,  Fluoride,  heavy  metals  etc.  beyond permissible limits over a prolonged period of time is known to cause several adverse effects on human health

like Arsenicosis, Fluorosis, organ damage, developmental issues in children etc. However, data on number of people affected by poor ground water quality is not maintained by this Ministry.

(d) As  such,  there  is  no  information  on  rural  or  urban  households  relying  on  contaminated  ground  water. Though  both  water  and  provision  of  drinking  water  are  state  subjects,  the  Union  government  is  making continuous efforts to ensure safe drinking water is provided to the citizens. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, being implemented by this Ministry in partnership with states, marks an important milestone for providing contamination free potable tap water to every rural household of the country in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis. Following measures have been taken under JJM to facilitate action on water quality aspects at state level :-

- i. While allocating the funds to States/ UTs, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.
- ii. To  facilitate  implementation  of  the  Scheme,  more  than  2000  water  quality  testing  laboratories have  been  set  up  in  the  country  and  an  online  JJM  -  Water  Quality  Management  Information System (WQMIS) portal has been developed. Besides this, five persons, preferably women are identified  and  trained  from  every  village  for  testing  the  water  samples  through  Field  Test  Kits (FTKs).
- iii. Under JJM, while planning for potable water supply to household through tap water connection, priority  is  given  to  quality-affected  habitations.  Further,  with  a  view  to  provide  immediate solution, 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 as an interim measure.

In addition to the above, CGWB is successfully constructing Arsenic free wells in arsenic affected areas using the innovative cement sealing technology for tapping contamination free aquifers and also providing technical assistance to state departments in construction of Fluoride safe wells.

(e) The government's efforts towards handling ground water quality issues are mainly channeled through the Jal  Jeevan  Mission.  However,  under  JJM  funds  are  not  separately  allocated  for  dealing  with  ground  water quality improvement. Out of the allocated amount, up to 2% can be utilized by the states for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance. As per the available information, from 2019-20 to 2024-25 (till date), an amount of Rs.4.30 lakh Cr has been allocated to states under JJM and out of this, total amount released is Rs. 3.95 lakh Cr and expenditure is Rs. 3.77 lakh Cr.

Details of State-wise and year-wise allocation are available in public domain and can be accessed from the following web link :

https://ejalshakti.gov.in/JJM/JJMReports/Financial/JJMRep\_StatewiseAllocationReleaseExpenditure.aspx

(f) D/o Drinking Water & Sanitation has released 'A Handbook on Drinking Water Treatment Technologies' in March 2023 to disseminate information regarding new technologies available amongst all stakeholders to understand  and  implement  the  new  technologies  that  address  local  issues  and  challenges  faced  in  waterquality affected villages. The States may take up appropriate numbers of water treatment system of one or a combination  of  technologies  depending  upon  techno-economic  feasibility.  The  State-wise  details  of  water treatment plants geotagged under JJM for various categories of schemes are at Annexure-III. Further, it is to state that due to cumulative efforts of all stakeholders, it is reported that from August 2019 to March 2025 the number of Arsenic and Fluoride affected habitations in the country have declined from 14,020 to 314 and from 7,996 to 251 respectively. These remaining habitations have been provided clean & safe drinking water through Community Water Purifier Plants (CWPPs).

State-wise details of affected habitations can be accessed from the following web link :

https://ejalshakti.gov.in/JJM/JJMReports/qaualityissue/JJMRep\_NoOfQualityAffHabitations\_S.aspx

***

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3418 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 20.03.2025 REGARDING 'SURVEY ON UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY'.

State-wise details of EC, Nitrate, Fluoride, Arsenic and Uranium Contamination in Ground Water for Year 2023

|      | State                                  | EC                       | EC                                | EC                                                          | Nitrate                   | Nitrate                          | Nitrate                                                       | Fluoride                  | Fluoride                      | Fluoride                                                |
|------|----------------------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| SNo. | State                                  | No. of samples analyse d | % of samples with EC > 3000 µS/cm | No. of districts having EC > 3000 µS/cm in isolated pockets | No. of sampl es analys ed | % of samples with NO 3 > 45 mg/L | No. of districts having Nitrate > 45 mg/L in isolated pockets | No. of sampl es analys ed | % of samples with F >1.5 mg/L | No of districts having F > 1.5 mg/L in isolated pockets |
| 1    | Andaman &Nicobar Islands               | 113                      | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 113                       | 0                                | 0                                                             | 113                       | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh                         | 1149                     | 9.7                               | 23                                                          | 1149                      | 23.5                             | 26                                                            | 1149                      | 11.31                         | 17                                                      |
| 3    | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 12                       | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 12                        | 0                                | 0                                                             | 12                        | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 4    | Assam                                  | 155                      | 0.6                               | 1                                                           | 155                       | 0                                | 0                                                             | 155                       | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 5    | Bihar                                  | 808                      | 0.9                               | 5                                                           | 808                       | 2.35                             | 15                                                            | 808                       | 4.58                          | 6                                                       |
| 6    | Chandigarh UT                          | 8                        | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 8                         | 0                                | 0                                                             | 8                         | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 7    | Chhattisgarh                           | 783                      | 0.3                               | 2                                                           | 783                       | 11.49                            | 20                                                            | 783                       | 1.79                          | 8                                                       |
| 8    | Dadra And Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu | 17                       | 5.9                               | 1                                                           | 17                        | 0                                | 0                                                             | 17                        | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 9    | Delhi                                  | 103                      | 23.3                              | 5                                                           | 103                       | 20.39                            | 7                                                             | 103                       | 16.5                          | 6                                                       |
| 10   | Goa                                    | 10                       | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 10                        | 0                                | 0                                                             | 10                        | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 11   | Gujarat                                | 632                      | 19.6                              | 24                                                          | 632                       | 18.04                            | 23                                                            | 632                       | 13.92                         | 25                                                      |
| 12   | Haryana                                | 879                      | 21                                | 19                                                          | 879                       | 14.56                            | 21                                                            | 879                       | 23.66                         | 17                                                      |
| 13   | Himachal Pradesh                       | 171                      | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 171                       | 9.36                             | 6                                                             | 171                       | 1.17                          | 2                                                       |
| 14   | Jammu &Kashmir                         | 250                      | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 250                       | 9.2                              | 6                                                             | 250                       | 0                             | 0                                                       |
| 15   | Jharkhand                              | 397                      | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 397                       | 5.79                             | 9                                                             | 397                       | 2.77                          | 8                                                       |
| 16   | Karnataka                              | 345                      | 14.5                              | 15                                                          | 345                       | 48.99                            | 27                                                            | 345                       | 17.68                         | 19                                                      |
| 17   | Kerala                                 | 342                      | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 342                       | 6.73                             | 10                                                            | 342                       | 0.29                          | 1                                                       |
| 18   | Madhya Pradesh                         | 589                      | 1.2                               | 5                                                           | 589                       | 22.58                            | 39                                                            | 589                       | 1.02                          | 6                                                       |
| 19   | Maharashtra                            | 1567                     | 3.6                               | 21                                                          | 1567                      | 35.74                            | 32                                                            | 1567                      | 1.91                          | 10                                                      |
| 20   | Meghalaya                              | 39                       | 0                                 | 0                                                           | 39                        | 0                                | 0                                                             | 39                        | 0                             | 0                                                       |

| 21           | Mizoram       | 3            | 0                                   | 0                                   | 3                                   | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     | 3                                                                     | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     |
|--------------|---------------|--------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 22           | Nagaland      | 6            | 0                                   | 0                                   | 6                                   | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     | 6                                                                     | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     |
| 23           | Odisha        | 625          | 1.1                                 | 4                                   | 625                                 | 14.4                                                                  | 15                                                                    | 625                                                                   | 4.48                                                                  | 10                                                                    |
| 24           | Pondicherry   | 4            | 0                                   | 0                                   | 4                                   | 25                                                                    | 1                                                                     | 4                                                                     | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     |
| 25           | Punjab        | 922          | 6.7                                 | 9                                   | 922                                 | 12.58                                                                 | 20                                                                    | 922                                                                   | 13.77                                                                 | 17                                                                    |
| 26           | Rajasthan     | 630          | 48.6                                | 26                                  | 630                                 | 49.52                                                                 | 30                                                                    | 630                                                                   | 43.17                                                                 | 31                                                                    |
| 27           | Tamil Nadu    | 916          | 9.2                                 | 24                                  | 916                                 | 37.77                                                                 | 31                                                                    | 916                                                                   | 9.72                                                                  | 21                                                                    |
| 28           | Telangana     | 1150         | 3                                   | 16                                  | 1150                                | 27.48                                                                 | 32                                                                    | 1150                                                                  | 14.87                                                                 | 28                                                                    |
| 29           | Tripura       | 81           | 0                                   | 0                                   | 81                                  | 2.47                                                                  | 2                                                                     | 81                                                                    | 0                                                                     | 0                                                                     |
| 30           | Uttar Pradesh | 1387         | 2.7                                 | 13                                  | 1387                                | 9.37                                                                  | 48                                                                    | 1387                                                                  | 5.7                                                                   | 27                                                                    |
| 31           | Uttarakhand   | 207          | 0                                   | 0                                   | 207                                 | 17.39                                                                 | 5                                                                     | 207                                                                   | 0.48                                                                  | 1                                                                     |
| 32           | West Bengal   | 959          | 0.8                                 | 5                                   | 959                                 | 8.65                                                                  | 18                                                                    | 959                                                                   | 0.73                                                                  | 3                                                                     |
| Grand Total  | Grand Total   | 15259        | 7.3                                 | 218                                 | 15259                               | 19.8                                                                  | 443                                                                   | 15259                                                                 | 9.04                                                                  | 263                                                                   |
| Parts of 218 | Parts of 218  | Parts of 218 | districts in 18 States/UTs Parts of | districts in 18 States/UTs Parts of | districts in 18 States/UTs Parts of | 443 districts in 23 States/UTsParts of 263 districts in 20 States/UTs | 443 districts in 23 States/UTsParts of 263 districts in 20 States/UTs | 443 districts in 23 States/UTsParts of 263 districts in 20 States/UTs | 443 districts in 23 States/UTsParts of 263 districts in 20 States/UTs | 443 districts in 23 States/UTsParts of 263 districts in 20 States/UTs |

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3418 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 20.03.2025 REGARDING 'SURVEY ON UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY'.

State-wise details of EC, Nitrate, Fluoride, Iron, Arsenic and Uranium Contamination in Ground Water for Year 2019

|            |                                        | EC                   | EC                      | EC                                                                       | Nitrate              | Nitrate                        | Nitrate                                                       | Fluoride                     | Fluoride              | Fluoride                                                        |
|------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.No.State |                                        | No. samples analysed | of % samples EC > µS/cm | of with 3000 No. of districts having EC > 3000 µS/cm in isolated pockets | No. samples analysed | of % samples with NO 3 45 mg/L | of > No. of districts having Nitrate 45 mg/L isolated pockets | > in No. of samples analysed | % samples with F mg/L | of >1.5 No of districts having F > 1.5 mg/L in isolated pockets |
| 1          | Andaman Nicobar Islands                | & 95                 | 1.05                    | 1                                                                        | 95                   | 0.00                           | 0                                                             | 95                           | 0.00                  | 0                                                               |
| 2          | Andhra Pradesh                         | 594                  | 14.65                   | 13                                                                       | 594                  | 32.66                          | 13                                                            | 594                          | 8.25                  | 11                                                              |
| 3          | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 3                    | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 3                    | 0.00                           | 0                                                             | 3                            | 0.00                  | 0                                                               |
| 4          | Assam                                  | 265                  | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 265                  | 0.00                           | 0                                                             | 265                          | 3.02                  | 6                                                               |
| 5          | Bihar                                  | 640                  | 0.16                    | 1                                                                        | 640                  | 8.28                           | 22                                                            | 640                          | 0.31                  | 2                                                               |
| 6          | Chandigarh UT                          | 10                   | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 10                   | 10.00                          | 1                                                             | 10                           | 0.00                  | 0                                                               |
| 7          | Chhattisgarh                           | 914                  | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 913                  | 12.71                          | 21                                                            | 914                          | 5.14                  | 12                                                              |
| 8          | Dadra And Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu | 12                   | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 12                   | 0.00                           | 0                                                             | 12                           | 0.00                  | 0                                                               |
| 9          | Delhi                                  | 63                   | 31.75                   | 5                                                                        | 63                   | 15.87                          | 6                                                             | 63                           | 7.94                  | 2                                                               |
| 10         | Goa                                    | 71                   | 0.00                    | 0                                                                        | 71                   | 5.63                           | 2                                                             | 71                           | 0.00                  | 0                                                               |
| 11         | Gujarat                                | 544                  | 21.14                   | 20                                                                       | 544                  | 36.58                          | 26                                                            | 544                          | 12.50                 | 18                                                              |
| 12         | Haryana                                | 447                  | 23.04                   | 16                                                                       | 447                  | 14.54                          | 10                                                            | 447                          | 15.21                 | 11                                                              |

| 13   | Himachal Pradesh Jammu Kashmir   | 120 314   | 0.00 0.00   |   0 |   120 |   10.83 |   6 |   120 |   0.83 |   0 |
|------|----------------------------------|-----------|-------------|-----|-------|---------|-----|-------|--------|-----|
| 14   |                                  | &         |             |   0 |   314 |    0    |   0 |   314 |   0    |   0 |
| 15   | Jharkhand                        | 392       | 0.00        |   0 |   392 |   21.43 |  19 |   392 |   6.38 |  10 |
| 16   | Karnataka                        | 818       | 5.13        |  15 |   818 |   19.19 |  26 |   818 |  12.84 |  21 |
| 17   | Kerala                           | 351       | 0.00        |   0 |   351 |    9.12 |   9 |   351 |   0.28 |   1 |
| 18   | Madhya Pradesh                   | 1194      | 1.01        |   8 |  1194 |   30.82 |  50 |  1194 |   3.18 |  10 |
| 19   | Maharashtra                      | 1049      | 2.48        |  17 |  1049 |    4.1  |  10 |  1049 |   1.53 |   9 |
| 20   | Meghalaya                        | 51        | 0.00        |   0 |    51 |    0    |   0 |    51 |   5.88 |   2 |
| 21   | Nagaland                         | 2         | 0.00        |   0 |     2 |    0    |   0 |     2 |   0    |   0 |
| 22   | Odisha                           | 1240      | 0.73        |   5 |  1240 |    0    |   0 |  1240 |   2.9  |  14 |
| 23   | Pondicherry                      | 6         | 0.00        |   0 |     6 |   16.67 |   1 |     6 |   0    |   0 |
| 24   | Punjab                           | 302       | 7.95        |   7 |   302 |   23.18 |  21 |   302 |  10.26 |  11 |
| 25   | Rajasthan                        | 650       | 31.69       |  28 |   650 |   37.38 |  32 |   650 |  30.62 |  27 |
| 26   | Tamil Nadu                       | 1202      | 14.23       |  27 |  1202 |   46.92 |  31 |  1202 |   8.32 |  23 |
| 27   | Telangana                        | 343       | 7.58        |   7 |   343 |   43.15 |  10 |   343 |  17.78 |   9 |
| 28   | Tripura                          | 135       | 0.00        |   0 |   135 |    0    |   0 |   135 |   2.22 |   3 |
| 29   | Uttar Pradesh                    | 817       | 2.33        |   8 |   817 |    6.73 |  36 |   817 |   2.57 |  14 |
| 30   | Uttarakhand                      | 186       | 0.00        |   0 |   186 |    3.76 |   3 |   186 |   1.08 |   1 |
| 31   | West Bengal                      | 718       | 1.67        |   4 |   718 |    6.41 |   6 |   718 |   4.74 |   7 |
|      |                                  | 13548     | 6.45        | 182 | 13547 |   18.25 | 361 | 13548 |   6.81 | 224 |

*****

## ANNEXURE-III

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3418 TO BE ANSWERED  IN LOK SABHA ON 20.03.2025  REGARDING  'SURVEY  ON UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY'.

## Status of Geo-tagged water treatment plants

| S.    | No.State/ UT                           | No. of Water treatment plant geotagged   |
|-------|----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1.    | Andaman &Nicobar Islands               | -                                        |
| 2.    | Andhra Pradesh                         | 277                                      |
| 3.    | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 3,311                                    |
| 4.    | Assam                                  | 17,762                                   |
| 5.    | Bihar                                  | -                                        |
| 6.    | Chhattisgarh                           | 63                                       |
| 7.    | Dadra And Nagar Haveli &Daman and Diu- | Dadra And Nagar Haveli &Daman and Diu-   |
| 8.    | Goa                                    | 12                                       |
| 9.    | Gujarat                                | 209                                      |
| 10.   | Haryana                                | 1,059                                    |
| 11.   | Himachal Pradesh                       | 662                                      |
| 12.   | Jammu &Kashmir                         | 1,315                                    |
| 13.   | Jharkhand                              | 351                                      |
| 14.   | Karnataka                              | 1,871                                    |
| 15.   | Kerala                                 | 522                                      |
| 16.   | Ladakh                                 | -                                        |
| 17.   | Lakshadweep                            | 2                                        |
| 18.   | Madhya Pradesh                         | 416                                      |
| 19.   | Maharashtra                            | 919                                      |
| 20.   | Manipur                                | 444                                      |
| 21.   | Meghalaya                              | 1,471                                    |
| 22.   | Mizoram                                | 295                                      |
| 23.   | Nagaland                               | 643                                      |
| 24.   | Odisha                                 | 104                                      |
| 25.   | Puducherry                             | -                                        |
| 26.   | Punjab                                 | 763                                      |
| 27.   | Rajasthan                              | 547                                      |
| 28.   | Sikkim                                 | 136                                      |
| 29.   | Tamil Nadu                             | 254                                      |
| 30.   | Telangana                              | -                                        |
| 31.   | Tripura                                | 445                                      |
| 32.   | UttarPradesh                           | 650                                      |
| 33.   | Uttarakhand                            | 532                                      |
| 34.   | West Bengal                            | 543                                      |
| Total | Total                                  | 35,578                                   |

Source: JJM-IMIS