Lok Sabha Question No. 1594 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Level of Nitrate in Groundwater
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Kuldeep Indora, Shri Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Shri Gaurav Gogoi, Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi, Dr. Kalyan Vaijinathrao Kale, Shri Anto Antony, Shri Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Shri K Sudhakaran, Dr. Amar Singh, Dr. Prashant Yadaorao Padole

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1594

ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## LEVEL OF NITRATE IN GROUNDWATER

1594.

DR. DHARAMVIRA GANDHI

SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA

DR. PRASHANT YADAORAO PADOLE

SHRI AMRINDER SINGH RAJA WARRING:

SHRI ANTO ANTONY

SHRI GAURAV GOGOI

DR. AMAR SINGH

SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA

SHRI KULDEEP INDORA

DR. KALYAN VAIJINATHRAO KALE

SHRI K SUDHAKARAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  data  on  nitrate  levels  in  groundwater  in  the  country  during  the  last  five  years,  districtwise  including Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan;
- (b) the initiatives taken/being taken by the Government to reduce nitrate contamination caused by agricultural practices, including the use of fertilisers and their impact on water quality;
- (c) the steps undertaken/being undertaken by the Government to mitigate contamination from other sources, particularly in severely affected States like Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka;
- (d) the progress made in expanding the groundwater monitoring network, including the use of digital devices to measure water levels and the expected outcomes of increasing the network to 40,000 wells by 2027;
- (e)  the  Government's  strategy  to  balance  groundwater  extraction  with  replenishment,  ensuring  sustainable usage, particularly in overexploited regions; and
- (f)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  studies  on  the  environmental  and  public  health  impacts  of chemical contamination in groundwater and if so, the details and the outcomes thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates ground water quality data on a regional scale as part of its ground water quality monitoring program annually and for various other scientific studies. The district-wise data  on  nitrate  levels  in  ground  water  samples  recorded  for  the  years 2019  and  2023  is  available  at  the following link:

https://cgwb.gov.in/sites/default/files/inlinefiles/percentage\_of\_samples\_nitrate\_morethan\_permissible\_limits\_ all\_states\_2023\_2019.pdf

According to the recorded data, in Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan, 24% of the samples analyzed had  nitrate  beyond  the  permissible  limit  (>45  mg/l)  in  2019,  whereas  in  2023  the  proportion  was  45%.

Similarly, in Hanumangarh, the percentage of samples reporting nitrate above permissible limits were 26% in 2019 and 56% in 2023 respectively.

(b) The Government is taking several measures to promote sustainable agriculture in the country with a vision to discourage excessive use of chemical fertilizers and promote organic agricultural practices. The Government is  implementing  Soil  Health  Management  &  Soil  Health  Card  Schemes  under  the  National  Project  on  Soil Health & Fertility of  National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture since the  year 2014-15. Soil health card provides  information  to  farmers  on  nutrient  status  of  their  soil  along  with  recommendations  on  appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its productivity. Based on the recommendations on Soil Health Card (SHC), so far, 93781 farmer's trainings and 7425 farmer's melas/campaigns have been organized  across  the  country  for  promoting  judicious  use  of  chemical  fertilizers  including  secondary  and micronutrients in conjunction with organic manures & bio-fertilizers.

Further, the Government is also promoting Natural Farming since 2019-2020 through BharatiyaPrakritikKrishi  Paddhati (BPKP) programme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). The scheme  mainly  emphasizes  on  exclusion  of  all  synthetic  chemical  inputs  and  promotes  on-farm  biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of cow dung-urine formulations and other plant based preparations.

(c) 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. However, several steps have been taken by the Central Government in this direction like regular quality monitoring and sharing of data by CGWB with state governments and other stakeholders, taking up construction of Arsenic and Fluoride safe wells and disseminating the technology, implementation of Water (Prevention & Control) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 by CPCB/SPCBs to prevent and control pollution in water etc.

But the major thrust for safeguarding the entire population of the country from the adverse effects of contaminated water has been provided by the Government by way of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, as a novel initiative. JJM is operational in the country since August 2019, including in the states of Rajasthan,  Punjab & Karnataka, with a view 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, Bureau of Indian Standards' BIS:10500 standards have been adopted as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery and JJM guidelines also stipulate that while allocating the funds to States/  UTs,  10%  weightage  is  to  be  given  to  the  population  residing  in  habitations  affected  by  chemical contaminants.

(d) Realizing the significance of having high frequency data on ground water on real time basis, this Ministry has  taken  up  the  process  of  installing  Digital  Water  Level  Recorders  (DWLRs)  with  telemetry  systems throughout the country under its various schemes and projects like Ground Water Management & Regulation (GWM &R) Scheme, Atal Bhujal Yojana etc. The state governments are also funded for carrying out the said activity under National Hydrology Project(NHP). So far, around 24,000 DWLRs have been installed across the country under the above said schemes, which facilitate real-time access to ground water related data.

(e) As stated earlier, Water being a State subject, sustainable development and management of groundwater resources  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  State  Governments.  However,  the  Central  Government facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects. In this direction, the important steps taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other central ministries for sustainable development of ground water resources in the country, with special focus on water stressed regions, are given below:-

- i. The Government is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country since 2019 which is a  mission  mode  and  time  bound  programme  for  harvesting  the  rainfall  and  taking  up  water conservation activities. Currently, JSA 2024 is being implemented in the country with special focus on 151 water stressed districts of the country. JSA is an umbrella campaign under which various  ground  water  recharge  and  conservation  related  works  are  being  taken  up  in convergence with various central and state schemes.
- ii. CGWB has  taken  up  National  Aquifer  Mapping  and  Management  Programme  (NAQUIM) with an aim to delineate aquifer disposition and their characterization. Entire mappable area of the  country  of  around  25  lakh  sq.  km  has  been  mapped  under  the  scheme  and  management plans have been shared with the respective State governments for implementation.
- iii. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by the CGWB for the  entire  country  and  shared  with  States/UTs  providing  a  broad  outline  for  construction  of around  1.42  crore  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge  structures  in  the  country  to harness around 185 BCM (Billion cubic meter) of water.
- iv. MoJS is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana, which is a community led scheme for participatory ground water management focusing on demand side management of ground water in 80 water stressed districts in 7 States.
- v. Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (DA & FW), GoI, is implementing Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) Scheme in the country since 2015-16, which focuses on enhancing water use  efficiency  at  farm  level  through  Micro  Irrigation  and better  on-farm  water  management practices to optimize the use of available water resources.
- vi. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at developing and rejuvenating at least 75 water bodies in each district of the country. As an outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country.

(f) Use  of  Ground  Water  for  drinking  purpose  having  Arsenic,  Fluoride,  heavy  metals  etc.  above  the permissible limits over a prolonged period of time is known to cause several adverse health effects. As per the information  provided  by  M/o  Health  &  Family  Welfare,  Arsenic  exposure  can  cause  skin  lesions,  cancer, cardiovascular diseases and developmental effects in children. Likewise, excessive fluoride in the ground water can  result  in  dental  and  skeletal  Fluorosis.  Similarly,  various  other  contaminants  are  known  to  produce different kinds of adverse effects.

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