(a) whether the Government has conducted any survey regarding presence of fluoride
in ground water in various cities of the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof including the standard limit of the quantity of
fluoride in ground water; and
(c) the action taken by the Government to address the issue?
THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES ( SHRI HARISH RAWAT )
(a) to (c). A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. †394 TO BE ANSWERED
ON 20.12.2012 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING “FLUORIDE IN WATER†ASKED BY DR. PADMASINHA BAJIRAO PATIL
AND SHRI A. SAI PRATAP:
(a) & (b) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the Ministry of Water Resources, as part
of its regular groundwater quality monitoring programme, has carried out analysis of groundwater
for fluoride content in various parts of the Country including cities. Besides this, the State
Governments carry out such surveys. The studies reveal that fluoride content in excess of maximum
permissible limit of 1.5 mg/litre, as prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), is present
in isolated pockets of some of the cities also. The State-wise details of cities are given in
Annexure.
(c) Research is on for in situ treatment of various contaminants in groundwater. Meanwhile,
CGWB assists States in identification of alternate sources of contaminant free aquifers for water
supply.