(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of hazardous chemical contents in underground water which is being used for drinking purposes throughout the country and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has conducted any scientific study in this matter;
(c) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
(d) the remedial steps taken/being contemplated by the Union Government in co-ordination with the various State Governments in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
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(a) to (c) Central Ground Water Board generates ground water quality data on a regional scale during various scientific studies and ground water quality monitoring throughout the country. These studies indicate the occurrence of Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrate, Iron and Heavy Metals beyond the BIS permissible limits in isolated pockets in various parts of the country. State-wise details of contamination of ground water are given at Annexure.
(d) Water being State subject, initiatives on water management including taking corrective action related to ground water quality in the country is primarily States’ responsibility. However, the important measures taken by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in this regard are as under:
• CPCB in association with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) is implementing the provisions of The Water (Prevention & Control) Act, 1974 & The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control of aquatic resources from pollution.
• Establishment of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) for cluster of Small Scale Industries.
• With respect to industrial effluents, consent management for compliance of standards is being enforced by SPCBs/PCCs to improve the water quality of the rivers.
Contd...P/2
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Further, Central Government supplements the efforts of States by providing financial and technical assistance to States/UTs. It is the States that plan, design, approve, implement, operate and maintain water supply schemes.
To enable every rural household in the country to have potable water at service level of 55 litre per capita per day (lpcd) through Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) by 2024, Government of India, in partnership with the States, has launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) with an estimated cost of Rs. 3.60 lakh Crores. The funds provided to the States under JJM can be utilized for providing safe drinking water to water quality affected areas on priority
In March 2017, National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM) was launched as a part of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), which has now been subsumed under JJM, to provide safe drinking water to Arsenic/ Fluoride affected rural habitations in the country.
One of the components of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) which covers 500 cities across India pertains to water supply. Out of Rs.77,740 crore allocated for projects under the mission, Rs.39,010 crore (50%) has been allocated to water supply. The key objective of AMRUT is universal coverage of water supply in the mission cities.
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ANNEXURE
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Unstarred Question No. 1944 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 22.09.2020 regarding “HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL CONTENTS IN UNDERGROUND WATER”.
States Wise Number of Partly Affected Districts with different Contaminants in Ground Water of India
S.
No. State/ UT Salinity (EC above 3000 micro mhos/ cm)(EC: Electrical Conductivity) Fluoride
(above 1.5 mg/l) Nitrate
(above 45 mg/l) Arsenic
(above 0.01 mg/l) Iron
(above 1mg/l) Lead (above 0.01 mg/l)
Cadmium (above 0.003 mg/l)
Chromium (above 0.05 mg/l)
1 Andhra Pradesh 12 12 13 3 7
2 Telangana 8 10 10 1 8 2 1 1
3 Assam 9 19 18
4 Arunachal Pradesh 4.
5 Bihar 13 10 22 19
6 Chhattisgarh 1 19 12 1. 17 1 1 1
7 Delhi 7 7 8 2 3 1 4
8 Goa 2
9 Gujarat 21 22 24 12 10
10 Haryana 18 21 21 15 17 17 7 1
11 Himachal Pradesh 6 1
12 Jammu &Kashmir 2 6 3 9 3 1
13 Jharkhand 12 11 2 6 1
14 Karnataka 29 30 29 2 22
15 Kerala 4 5 11 14 2 1
16 Madhya Pradesh 18 43 51 8 41 16
17 Maharashtra 25 17 30 20 19
18 Manipur 1 2 4
19 Meghalaya 1 6
20 Nagaland 1 1
21 Odisha 17 26 28 1 30 1
22 Punjab 10 19 21 10 9 6 8 10
23 Rajasthan 30 33 33 1 33 3
24 Tamil Nadu 28 25 29 9 2 3 1 5
25 Tripura 4
26 Uttar Pradesh 13 34 59 28 15 10 2 3
27 Uttarakhand 4 5.
28 West Bengal 6 8 5 16 6 2 2
29 Andaman& Nicobar 1 2
30 Daman & Diu 1 1 1
31 Puducherry 1
Total Parts of 249 districts in 18 states & UTs Parts of 370districts in 23 states & UTs Parts of 423districts in 23states & UTs Parts of 152 districts in 21 states & UTs Parts of 341 districts in 27 states & UTs Pb in parts of 92 districts in 14 states Cd in parts of 24 districts in 9 states Cr in parts of 29districts in 10 states
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