Question : Contaminated Drinking Water

(a) the names of the districts having the most contaminated or poor quality of drinking water in the country;
(b) whether the Government has carried out any research to find out the reasons behind the contamination of drinking water in these districts;
(c) if so, the names of the pollutants found in large amount in the drinking water of these districts, district-wise;
(d) whether it has been found in the research that the drinking water is being contaminated due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides, B.T. seeds and fertilizers in various areas;
(e) if so, the details thereof; and
(f) the corrective steps taken by the Government to purify the contaminated water in those districts and to provide safe drinking water to all in those districts?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
(SHRI RAMESH CHANDAPPA JIGAJINAGI)

(a) to (c): The names of Districts having the most contaminated or poor quality of drinking water in the country as reported by States into the online integrated management information system (IMIS) of the Ministry, State-wise, is at Annexure. Contamination of ground water based drinking water sources due to arsenic, fluoride, salinity, iron & heavy metals are geogenic in nature. Nitrate contamination may be due to excess use of fertilizer and untreated / partially treated sewage contamination.

(d)&(e): The Ministry has not received any information from any State Government regarding drinking water being contaminated due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides, B.T. seeds and fertilizers in drinking water sources.

(f): Ministry has advised all the State Governments to take up following measures in providing safe drinking water in rural parts of the country: -
(i) Bacteriological contamination can be effectively controlled through proper disinfection.
(ii) Safe drinking water can be ensured through proper treatment of water and through piped water supply schemes.
(iii) To deal with specific contaminants, specific technologies can be adopted for removal of contaminants so that water is made pure before the same is reached out to the people.