Lok Sabha Question No. 6253 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Testing Laboratories to check for Groundwater Contamination
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Thiru D M Kathir Anand

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6253 ANSWERED ON 02/04/2026

## TESTING LABORATORIES TO CHECK FOR GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

## 6253.   THIRU D M KATHIR ANAND:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has established any testing laboratories to find out the presence of harmful and high levels of contamination of arsenic, mercury and fluoride in groundwater in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has any new project proposal to control arsenic, mercury and fluoride and other harmful substances contamination in groundwater, if so, the details thereof and the total amount of funds sanctioned in this regard; and

(d) the details of the funds allocated to establish water contamination testing laboratories in Tamil Nadu and  the  status  of  the  new  projects  being  implemented  in  Tamil  Nadu  during  the  last  five  years, particularly in Vellore Lok Sabha Constituency?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA)

(a) to (d) Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is under implementation since August, 2019, in partnership with States/ UTs to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and  on  regular  &  long-term  basis  to  rural  households.  Drinking  Water  being  a  State  subject,  the responsibility of Planning, Designing, Approval, Implementation, Operation & Maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), is vested with State/UT Governments.  The  Government  of  India  supplements  the  efforts  of  the  States/  UTs  by  providing financial, policy guidance and technical assistance.

As per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs including Tamil Nadu can utilize JJM funds for Water Quality  Monitoring  &  Surveillance  (WQM&S)  activities,  inter-alia,  which  includes  setting  up  and strengthening of water quality testing laboratories, procurement of equipment, instruments, chemicals, glassware, consumables, hiring of skilled manpower, surveillance by community using field test kits (FTKs), awareness generation, educational programmes on water quality, accreditation/recognition of laboratories, etc.

As reported by States/ UTs on JJM - Water Quality Management Information System (JJM-WQMIS), as  on  31.03.2026,  the  State  Public  Health  Engineering/  Rural  Water  Supply  Departments  operate  a network of 2,874 (including 113 in Tamil Nadu) water quality testing laboratories at various levels viz. State, regional, district, sub-division, block, mobile and/ or WTP facility laboratories.

Under  the  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  as  per  existing  guidelines,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards'  BIS:10500 standards are adopted as benchmark for quality of water being supplied through the piped water supply schemes. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to households, priority is given to 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.

The Ministry of Housing Affairs (MoHUA) has informed that they have published Manual on Water Supply and Treatment Systems (Drink from Tap) in March 2024 for reference by the States/ ULBs for designing,  implementation,  drinking  water  quality  and  monitoring  of  the  water  supply  projects. (https://mohua.gov.in/publication/manual-on-water-supplyandtreatment-systems---drink-from-tap--march-2024.php). MoHUA has issued an advisory "Strengthening Water Quality Monitoring in Cities through Community Participation" under AMRUT 2.0 in November, 2024 to all the States to formulate a Water Quality Monitoring strategy at the State or City level and to strengthen the institutional capacity for citywide monitoring of drinking water quality in urban areas along with Digital Display Boards for water quality parameters for public information & awareness.

To  ensure  safe  drinking  water  supply  to  the  urban  households,  AMRUT/AMRUT  2.0  supports, rehabilitation and upgradation of water supply network and creation/augmentation of Water Treatment Plants  (WTPs)  plants.  Under  AMRUT/  AMRUT2.0,  6140  Million  Litre  per  Day  (MLD)  of  WTP capacity has been approved under AMRUT, of which, 5,429 MLD WTP capacity has been created. Under AMRUT 2.0, 11,395 MLD WTP capacity has been approved so far. These treatment plants are generally equipped with inhouse lab facilities or have tie up with the Labs for regular water quality testing.

The  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  has  informed  that  groundwater  quality  monitoring  and testing is conducted by CGWB on a regional scale across the country through its groundwater quality monitoring  programme  and  scientific  studies  conducted  as  per  the  approved  Standard  Operating Procedure  (SOP).  CWGB  has  a  total  of  16  Regional  Chemical  Laboratories  located  at  Jammu, Chandigarh,  Jaipur,  Ahmedabad,  Bhopal,  Raipur,  Nagpur,  Lucknow,  Patna,  Kolkata,  Guwahati, Bhubaneswar,  Hyderabad,  Bengaluru,  Chennai  and  Thiruvananthapuram.  These  laboratories  have facilities  to  analyse  groundwater  samples  for  basic  parameters  such  as  pH,  electrical  conductivity, nitrate, fluoride, etc., and heavy metals including iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and uranium (U) etc.

To  address  Fluoride  contamination,  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  has  provided  technical assistance  and  proposed  an  eco-friendly,  sustainable  natural  recharge  model.  This  model  involves constructing wells that tap into the shallow water table aquifer within colluvium, alluvium, and the weathered  sections  of  granitic/basaltic  areas,  at  depths  ranging  from  18  to  30  meters.  The  shallow aquifers are considered free of fluoride but are not sustainable during the summer season. These wells should be located near surface water bodies such as check dams, percolation tanks, canal command areas, river sections, Amrit Sarovar, and Pushkar Talab. This approach will facilitate the natural recharge of the upper layer of the unconfined aquifer.

For Arsenic contamination, CGWB has developed the innovative cement sealing technique through inhouse research for construction of Arsenic-free wells in the Gangetic flood plains. CGWB is providing technical assistance to State agencies by sharing this cement-sealing technology to enable tapping of contamination-free aquifers and facilitating construction of arsenic-safe wells.

*****