Lok Sabha Question No. 3174 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Scientific Assessment of Groundwater Contamination in Industrial and River Basins of Uttar Pradesh
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Pushpendra Saroj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3174 (ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026)

## SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION IN INDUSTRIAL AND RIVER BASINS OF UTTAR PRADESH

3174.  SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether the Government, its scientific institutions and autonomous groundwater untreated discharge in major river basins and industrial clusters of Uttar Pradesh
- bodies, is conducting or funding research on contamination arising from industrial effluents and and if so, the findings thereof;
- (b)      the  details  of  the  districts  identified  with  elevated  levels  of  heavy metals, nitrates, fluorides or other toxic contaminants and whether district-wise hydro-geological risk mapping has been undertaken;
- (c)    the findings of long-term aquifer degradation, recharge obstruction and drinking water safety in affected regions; and
- (d)  the scientific remediation technologies, real-time monitoring systems or pilot projects proposed to restore contaminated aquifers and prevent further groundwater deterioration in the State?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES

(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a)& (b) Yes. CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, (CSIR-IITR) - a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has conducted three sponsored studies for the Uttar  Pradesh  Ground  Water  Department  across  multiple districts  of  Uttar  Pradesh  for  the  analysis  of  ground  water quality and mapping:
- o Ghaghara  Basin  (April  2022): Covered  Kushinagar,  Deoria, Ballia, Maharajganj, Mau, Gorakhpur.
- o Central Ganga, Ramganga & Yamuna Basins (July 2021): Covered multiple districts including Fatehpur, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Moradabad, Agra, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, and others.
- o Hindon Basin (September 2020): Covered Saharanpur, Shamli,  Muzaffarnagar,  Meerut,  Bhagpat,  Ghaziabad,  Agra, Firozabad.

Further,  CSIR-National  Environmental  Engineering  Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur has evaluated Effluent Treatment  Plants  (ETPs)  in  several  cities  of  Uttar  Pradesh, namely Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Agra and Mathura,  under  a  project  sponsored  by  the  Central  Pollution Control  Board.  Borewell  water  samples  from  industrial  areas near  the  Yamuna  and  Hindon  rivers  showed  heavy  metal concentrations within permissible limits (BIS 10500).

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti generates groundwater quality data at a regional  scale  across  the  country,  including  state  of  Uttar Pradesh, through its groundwater quality monitoring programme  and  scientific studies conducted  as per the approved  Standard  Operating  Procedure  (SOP).  As  per  the Annual Ground Water Quality Report - 2025 recently released by  the  CGBW,  localized  occurrence  of  arsenic,  fluoride,  iron, salinity, uranium, manganese, lead and nitrate in ground water in  excess of the limits prescribed for drinking water use has been observed across Uttar Pradesh. The district-wise details of  the  same  is  at  Annexure-I.  The  complete  Annual  Ground Water Quality Report -2025 is available at https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/ 1762854375262680475 file.pdf

- (c) Central  Ground  Water  Board  carries  out  Annual  Ground  Water Resource Estimation (GWRE) to generate updated estimates of groundwater  availability,  extraction  and  stage  of  groundwater development, and to analyse trends in recharge and withdrawal.

The assessment of data collected for the State of Uttar Pradesh from 2017 to 2025 indicates that:

- o Total Annual Ground Water Recharge has increased from 69.92 Billion Cubic Meters (2017) to 73.39 Billion Cubic Meters (2025), i.e., an increase of 3.47 Billion Cubic Meters
- o The Stage of Ground Water Extraction has marginally improved from 70.18% (2017) to 70.00% (2025), i.e., a reduction of 0.18 percentage points.
- o GWRE categorisation indicates that the Safe assessment units (<=  70  %),  have  increased  from  540  (65%)  in  2017  to  563 (67.34%)  in  2025,  while  the  Over-exploited  assessment  units (>100 %). have declined from 91 (11%) in 2017 to 54 (6.46%) in 2025.

CGWB  has  prepared  a  Master  Plan  for  Artificial  Recharge  to Groundwater- 2020 which envisages construction of about 23,668 artificial recharge and rain-water harvesting structures and 20.57 sq. km area for roof-top rainwater harvesting in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Also, CGWB has completed the National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) Project for the entire mappable area of about 2.40 lakh sq. km in Uttar Pradesh. The Aquifer maps and management plans have been shared with state agencies for implementation.

Further,  the  National  Water  Policy  (2012)  advocates  rainwater harvesting, water conservation, and the scientific preservation of rivers  and  water  bodies  through  community  participation.  It strictly prohibits encroachment or diversion of water bodies and drainage channels, and where such encroachments have occurred, it calls for their restoration wherever feasible. Additionally,  the  Uttar  Pradesh  Ground  Water  Management  and Regulation Act-2019 is in force to regulate groundwater extraction in the state.

- (d)   Several  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  Central  Government  for facilitating  ground  water  quality  improvement/  remediation  of pollutants  in  the  country  including  Uttar  Pradesh  alongwith  a combination of preventive, treatment, and management strategies to ensure safe drinking water and mitigate groundwater contamination  by  various  pollutants.  The  brief  details  of  the aforesaid are at Annexure - II.

For real time monitoring and better groundwater management in Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has initiated strengthening  and  automation  of  the  groundwater  monitoring network. Under this initiative, 172 Digital Water Level Recorders (DWLRs) have been installed on existing piezometers under the National Hydrology Project (NHP), providing high-frequency groundwater  level  data  at  6-hour  intervals.  The  expanded  and automated  monitoring  network  will  ensure  wider  and  denser coverage and near real-time data, thereby improving the accuracy of  groundwater  resource  estimation  and  supporting  special studies  such  as  groundwater  recharge  which  in  turn  will  aid evidence-based planning and local-level groundwater management in the Uttar Pradesh State.

*******

Annexure-I Ground Water Quality Status for State of Uttar Pradesh (as per Annual Ground Water Quality Yearbook-2025

| Parameter                                                       |   No. of samples analyzed |   No. of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits |   %of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits |   No. of partially affected districts | Name of Partially affected districts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Electrical conductivity (EC)/Salinity (EC > 3000 µS/cm at 25°C) |                      1333 |                                            31 |                                       2.33 |                                    11 | Agra, Aligarh, Amethi, Etawah, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur, Hathras, Mainpuri, Mathura                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Fluoride (F - ) (F > 1.5 mg/L)                                  |                      1333 |                                            54 |                                       4.05 |                                    24 | Agra, Aligarh, Auraiya, Azamgarh, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghazipur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kaushambi, Lucknow, Mahoba, Mainpuri, Mathura, Meerut, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Sonbhadra, Unnao                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| Nitrate (NO 3 2- ) (Nitrate > 45mg/L)                           |                      1333 |                                           107 |                                       8.03 |                                    48 | Agra, Aligarh, Amethi, Amroha, Auraiya, Baghpat, Balrampur, Banda, Bijnor, Budaun, Chitrakoot, Etah, Etawah, Fatehpur, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hamirpur, Hapur, Hathras, Jalaun, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kasganj, Kaushambi, Lalitpur, Lucknow, Mahoba, Mainpuri, Mathura, Meerut, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Prayagraj, Rampur, Sambhal, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Shamli, Siddharth Nagar, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi                 |
| Arsenic (As) (As > 10 ppb)                                      |                       612 |                                            23 |                                       3.76 |                                    14 | Bahraich , Balrampur , Ballia, Barabanki, Bareilly, Bijnor, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Moradabad, Pilibhit , Rampur, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| Iron (Fe) (Fe > 1.0 mg/L)                                       |                       601 |                                           144 |                                      23.96 |                                    46 | Amethi, Amroha, Auraiya, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Balrampur, Ballia , Barabanki, Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Chandauli , Chitrakoot, Etah , Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Gonda, Hamirpur, Hardoi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Kushi Nagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Mahrajganj, Maunath Bhanjan, Meerut, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Pratapgarh, Raebareli, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Shrawasti, Siddharth Nagar, Sitapur, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi |

| Parameter                 |   No. of samples analyzed |   No. of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits |   %of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits |   No. of partially affected districts | Name of Partially affected districts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|---------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Uranium (U > 30 ppb)      |                       612 |                                            29 |                                       4.74 |                                    22 | Agra, Aligarh, Banda, Bijnor, Budaun, Etah , G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur , Jalaun, Jhansi, Kannauj , Kanpur Dehat , Lalitpur, Mahoba, Meerut, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Shahjahanpur, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi                                                      |
| Lead (Pb > 0.01 mg/L)     |                       581 |                                             2 |                                       0.34 |                                     2 | Budaun, Chandauli                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Manganese (Mn > 0.3 mg/L) |                       610 |                                            49 |                                       8.03 |                                    26 | Amroha, Auraiya , Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Chitrakoot, Etah , Fatehpur, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur , Gorakhpur , Hardoi, Jhansi, Kushi Nagar , Lakhimpur Kheri , Lalitpur, Mahoba, Mathura, Meerut, Mirzapur , Moradabad, Pilibhit , Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi |

Steps  taken  by  the  Central  Government  for  facilitating  ground  water  quality improvement/ remediation of pollutants in the country including Uttar Pradesh

-  Under  the  National  Aquifer  Mapping  Programme  (NAQUIM)  of  CGWB,  special attention  has  been  given  to  the  aspect  of  ground  water  quality  including contamination by toxic substances such as Arsenic in ground water. CGWB has successfully  constructed  Arsenic-free  wells  using  cement-sealing  technology under NAQUIM studies in the Gangetic flood plains of Uttar Pradesh. In total, 294 exploratory  wells  tapping  arsenic-safe  aquifers  have  been  constructed  under NAQUIM in Uttar Pradesh.
-  Successful  wells  have  been  handed  over  to  the  State  Governments  for  their purposeful  utilization.  Further,  CGWB  is  providing  technical  assistance  to  the States by sharing the cement sealing technology for tapping contamination free aquifers in Gangetic flood plains.
-  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  conducts  periodic  groundwater  quality monitoring  to  identify  both  contaminated  and  non-contaminated  areas  including UP. To enhance monitoring efficiency, a new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for  Groundwater  Quality  Monitoring  has  been  introduced,  incorporating  more frequent and denser sampling in vulnerable areas.
-  Data on ground water quality that is available with CGWB are made available in public domain through reports as well as through the web site (http://www.cgwb.gov.in) for use by various stakeholders. The data is also shared with State Governments for taking necessary remedial measures.
-  To  further  accelerate  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  on  ground  water  quality, CGWB has initiated the practice of issuing ground water quality year book, halfyearly ground water quality Bulletins so that immediate action can be initiated in the reported areas.
-  Fortnightly results of chemical analysis data are shared with State Government as Ground Water Quality Alerts since 17 June 2024.
-  Since improvement in ground water quality can also be achieved to some degree by taking up artificial recharge activities, Ministry of Jal Shakti and other central ministries  are  implementing  several  programmes  towards  this  end,  which  are expected to improve the underground water table and also help in ameliorating the quality of ground water through dilution effect.

Preventive, treatment, and management strategies to ensure safe drinking water and mitigate groundwater contamination by various pollutants is as under:

-  In fluoride-affected regions,  water  quality  can  be  safeguarded  through  proper source  selection, blending of highand  low-fluoride waters, installation of community based treatment plants and public awareness initiatives.
-  For nitrate contamination , emphasis is placed on efficient fertilizer management, including regular soil testing, appropriate timing of fertilizer application and use of organic fertilizers. Additional measures include maintenance of septic systems and proper  management of animal wastes to prevent nitrogen leaching into groundwater.
-  Arsenic  mitigation involves  both  short-  and  long-term  measures.  Short-term strategies  include  the  installation  of  household  and  community  treatment  units, prohibition of contaminated wells, and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. Long-term actions focus on developing alternate safe aquifers, rainwater harvesting and deep-well construction using sealing techniques.
-  In  the  case  of uranium  contamination ,  multiple  treatment  technologies  are available,  including  adsorption,  coagulation,  extraction,  reverse  osmosis  and evaporation. Selection of the appropriate method depends on cost, efficiency and local conditions, with combined or need-based approaches recommended for best results.
-  For iron and manganese , remedial options include aeration, filtration, use of iron or  manganese  removal  plants  and  chemical  oxidation.  Reverse  osmosis  and specialized media filters are suitable for smaller-scale or household applications.
-  To address lead contamination , the key measures include installation of filtration systems  (activated  carbon,  RO,  or  ion  exchange),  strict  regulation  of  industrial effluents, lead testing in public buildings, hydrogeochemical mapping and public advisories on safe water use practices. Overall, the integrated implementation of source protection, treatment technologies, regulatory enforcement, and community participation is crucial to ensuring safe and sustainable groundwater quality across affected regions.