Lok Sabha Question No. 204 (STARRED), answered on 2023-08-03
Subject: Health Hazards due to Contaminated Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Subrata Pathak, Khagen Murmu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO-†*204

ANSWERED ON-03/08/2023.

## HEALTH HAZARDS DUE TO CONTAMINATED WATER

†*204. SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK:

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

- (a) the  details  of  the  number  of  people  exposed  to  health  hazards  caused  by  drinking  water contaminated due to high levels of arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity and nitrates in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, district-wise;
- (b) whether any corrective steps have been taken by the Government in this regard and if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (c) whether the Government proposes to improve the water harvesting infrastructure in order to raise water level in the aforesaid States and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (c) A Statement of reply is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement referred to in the reply to parts (a) to (c) in respect of  Lok Sabha Starred Question No. †*204 answered on 03/08/2023.

(a) to (c): 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. 'Water' being a state subject planning, approval and implementation of drinking water supply schemes, lies with State/UT governments.

At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission, 3.23 Crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. As reported by States/UTs as on 01/08/2023, more than 9.47 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on  01/08/2023,  out  of  19.42  Crore  rural  households  in  the  country,  more  than  12.70  Crore (65.38%) rural households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes. Under JJM, while allocating  the  funds  to  States/  UTs,  10%  weightage  is  given  to  the  population  residing  in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.

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.

Under  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  as  per  existing  guidelines,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards'  IS:10500 standard is to be adopted for ensuring safe drinking water supply. States/UTs have been advised to carry out testing of water quality on a periodic basis, i.e. once in a year for chemical and physical parameters, and twice in a year for bacteriological parameters and take remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality.

As reported by States/UTs, as on date, there are 2,087 drinking water quality testing laboratories at different levels viz. State, District, sub-division and/ or block level in the country. To encourage water  quality  testing  to  ensure  potable  drinking  water  supply,  States/  UTs  have  opened  water quality testing laboratories to general public for testing of their water samples at a nominal rate.

States/ UTs have been advised to identify and train 5 persons, preferably women, in every village to conduct water quality testing using Field Testing Kits (FTKs)/ bacteriological vials at village level and report the same on the WQMIS portal. So far, as reported by states/UTs, more than 22.42 lakh women have been trained for testing water using FTKs.

Since launch of JJM, year-wise, testing of water quality samples in the laboratories has increased from around 40 lakhs samples in 2018-19 to more than 62 lakh samples in 2022-23. Similarly, testing of water quality using FTKs has increased from around 11 lakh samples in 2018-19 to 1.07 crore water samples during 2022-23.

To enable States/ UTs to test water samples for water quality, and for sample collection, reporting, monitoring  and  surveillance  of  drinking  water  sources,  an  online  JJM  -  Water  Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) portal has been developed. The State-wise details of water quality test reported through WQMIS are available in public domain on JJM Dashboard and can also be accessed at:

## https://ejalshakti.gov.in/WQMIS/Main/report

As reported by states/UTs, since launch of JJM, out 57,539 quality-affected habitations as reported on 1 st Auguest,2019, potable water has been made available in 39,039 habitations. Also, provision of safe drinking water has been made in all 14,020 Arsenic and 7,996 Fluoride affected habitations by respective States. As reported by the States/ UTs, details of drinking water quality-affected habitations, as on 01.08.2023, is annexed . The details regarding persons having health hazard due to contaminated drinking water is not maintained centrally.

The Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater - 2020 has been prepared by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in consultation with States/ UTs and circulated to all States/ UTs for  implantation,  indicating  various  suitable  structures  for  different  terrain  conditions  of  the country. The master plan envisages construction of about 1.42 crore Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) of monsoon rainfall. Further, CGWB has completed the National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) project in the entire mappable area of about 25 lakh sq. km. The aquifer map and management plan have been prepared and shared with the respective State agencies for implementation.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain is a campaign which aims to encourage water conservation at grass-root levels with people's participation. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) was launched in the year 2019 in 256 water stressed districts of the country. Since 2021, it is being implemented across the country annually as 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain' (JSA: CTR). The fourth in the series, JSA:  CTR  2023  has  been  launched  on  04.03.2023  with  the  theme  'Source  Sustainability  for Drinking Water'. The campaign covers all rural and urban areas of all districts (all blocks and municipalities) across the country.

Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  is  being  implemented  in  identified  water  stressed  areas  of  8220  Gram Panchayats  (GPs)  under  229  administrative  Blocks/  Talukas  in  80  districts  of  7  States,  viz., Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with an aim  to  arrest  decline  in  ground  water  level  through  community  led  sustainable  groundwater management for a period of 5 years from 01.04.2020.

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## Annex as referred in the reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. † *204 answered on 03/08/2023 State-wise number of drinking water quality-affected habitations

(As on 01/08/2023)

| S. No.   | State             | 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   | Number of quality-affected habitations   | Number of quality-affected habitations   |
|----------|-------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|          |                   | Fluoride                                 | Fluoride                                 | Arsenic                                  | Arsenic                                  | Heavy Metals                             | Heavy Metals                             | Iron                                     | Salinity                                 | Nitrate                                  |
|          |                   | Total                                    | Covered with CWPP                        | Total                                    | Covered with CWPP                        | Total                                    | Covered with CWPP                        |                                          |                                          |                                          |
| 1.       | Arunachal Pradesh | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 33                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 2.       | Assam             | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 6,490                                    | -                                        | -                                        |
| 3.       | Bihar             | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 66                                       | -                                        | -                                        |
| 4.       | Jharkhand         | 2                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        |
| 5.       | Kerala            | 4                                        | 4                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 58                                       | 17                                       | 8                                        |
| 6.       | Lakshadweep       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 10                                       | -                                        |
| 7.       | Odisha            | 24                                       | 24                                       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 1,067                                    | 11                                       | 6                                        |
| 8.       | Punjab            | 176                                      | 176                                      | 320                                      | 320                                      | 85                                       | 57                                       | 3                                        | -                                        | 17                                       |
| 9.       | Rajasthan         | 150                                      | 150                                      | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 4                                        | 8,840                                    | 436                                      |
| 10.      | Tripura           | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 316                                      | -                                        | -                                        |
| 11.      | Uttar Pradesh     | 10                                       | 10                                       | 63                                       | 63                                       | -                                        | -                                        | 147                                      | 14                                       | 2                                        |
| 12.      | Uttarakhand       | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | -                                        | 2                                        | -                                        | 1                                        |
| 13.      | West Bengal       | 39                                       | 39                                       | 76                                       | 76                                       | -                                        | -                                        | 3                                        | -                                        | -                                        |

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## Annex