Lok Sabha Question No. 166 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-01-29
Subject: Contaminated Drinking Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Smt. Sanjna Jatav

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 166

ANSWERED ON 29/01/2026

## CONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER

## †166.  SMT. SANJNA JATAV:

## Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI

be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that about seventy per cent of drinking water in the country is contaminated and that India ranks 120th out of 122 countries in terms of water purity;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken by the Government to provide clean drinking water to the people of the country, State-wise;

(c)  whether the Government is aware that about eighty five per cent of drinking water supply depends on groundwater and that nearly sixty crore people are facing extreme or severe water scarcity in the country;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the substances causing this water contamination; and

(e) the steps being taken to address the same?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) The Composite Water Management Index (CWMI), first published by NITI Aayog in 2018, assesses water management in India using indicators such as water stress and water quality, based on central and state data for FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17. The second CWMI report (2019) reported that nearly 80% of assessed states showed improvement in water management over the last three years.

The first CWMI also highlighted limited access to drinking water, with 75% of households lacking water on premises and 84% of rural households without piped supply. These gaps have since been significantly  reduced  through  the  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  with  over  81%  of  19.36  crore  rural households  now  reported  having  tap  water  connections,  contributing  to  improved  water management outcomes.

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, was launched in 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. 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. 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, is vested with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical and financial assistance. Out of total 6,83,144 schemes reported by States/ UTs on JJM-IMIS, sources of 5,54,095 schemes are groundwater based.

Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of JJM, towards enhancing access to tap water for rural households. At the start of JJM in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by State/UTs, more than 12.55 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 23.01.2025, out of 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, more than 15.78 Crore households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes. The State-wise status of implementation of JJM, as reported by States/ UTs on JJM-IMIS is annexed .

As per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual allocation of funds under JJM 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.

A 'Citizen Corner' has been placed on the JJM Dashboard. The 'Citizen Corner' includes display of village level water quality test results in the public domain to further create awareness and build confidence among people about the quality of water supplies through the PWS in rural areas.

*****

Annexure

## Annexure referred  to  in  reply  to  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No. † 166  answered  on 29.01.2026

## Jal Jeevan Mission: State-wise status of implementation

(No. in lakhs)

| S. No.   | State             | Total Rural households   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 22.01.2026   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 22.01.2026   |
|----------|-------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | State             | Total Rural households   | No.                                                    | %                                                      |
| 1.       | A &NIslands       | 0.62                     | 0.62                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh    | 95.53                    | 71.44                                                  | 74.78                                                  |
| 3.       | Arunachal Pradesh | 2.29                     | 2.29                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 4.       | Assam             | 72.24                    | 59.00                                                  | 81.67                                                  |
| 5.       | Bihar             | 167.55                   | 160.36                                                 | 95.71                                                  |
| 6.       | Chhattisgarh      | 49.97                    | 40.98                                                  | 82                                                     |
| 7.       | DDNH&DD           | 0.85                     | 0.85                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 8.       | Goa               | 2.64                     | 2.64                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 9.       | Gujarat           | 91.18                    | 91.18                                                  | 100                                                    |
| 10.      | Haryana           | 30.41                    | 30.41                                                  | 100                                                    |
| 11.      | Himachal Pradesh  | 17.09                    | 17.09                                                  | 100                                                    |
| 12.      | Jammu &Kashmir    | 19.26                    | 15.64                                                  | 81.23                                                  |
| 13.      | Jharkhand         | 62.53                    | 34.48                                                  | 55.14                                                  |
| 14.      | Karnataka         | 101.31                   | 87.69                                                  | 86.56                                                  |
| 15.      | Kerala            | 70.77                    | 38.80                                                  | 54.83                                                  |
| 16.      | Ladakh            | 0.41                     | 0.40                                                   | 97.84                                                  |
| 17.      | Lakshadweep       | 0.13                     | 0.12                                                   | 91.45                                                  |
| 18.      | Madhya Pradesh    | 111.38                   | 81.64                                                  | 73.3                                                   |
| 19.      | Maharashtra       | 146.78                   | 132.64                                                 | 90.37                                                  |
| 20.      | Manipur           | 4.52                     | 3.59                                                   | 79.6                                                   |
| 21.      | Meghalaya         | 6.51                     | 5.42                                                   | 83.35                                                  |
| 22.      | Mizoram           | 1.33                     | 1.33                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 23.      | Nagaland          | 3.64                     | 3.42                                                   | 94.08                                                  |
| 24.      | Odisha            | 88.65                    | 68.44                                                  | 77.21                                                  |
| 25.      | Puducherry        | 1.15                     | 1.15                                                   | 100                                                    |
| 26.      | Punjab            | 34.27                    | 34.27                                                  | 100                                                    |
| 27.      | Rajasthan         | 107.73                   | 62.60                                                  | 58.1                                                   |
| 28.      | Sikkim            | 1.33                     | 1.22                                                   | 92.09                                                  |
| 29.      | Tamil Nadu        | 125.26                   | 112.10                                                 | 89.49                                                  |
| 30.      | Telangana         | 53.98                    | 53.98                                                  | 100                                                    |
| 31.      | Tripura           | 7.51                     | 6.48                                                   | 86.3                                                   |
| 32.      | Uttar Pradesh     | 267.20                   | 243.15                                                 | 91                                                     |
| 33.      | Uttarakhand       | 14.48                    | 14.18                                                  | 97.9                                                   |
| 34.      | West Bengal       | 175.52                   | 99.27                                                  | 56.56                                                  |
| Total    | Total             | 1936.02                  | 1578.89                                                | 81.55                                                  |

Source: JJM-IMIS