Parliament Question: Contaminated Drinking Water Sources

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *278 ANSWERED ON 06/08/2026 CONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER SOURCES *278. SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the number of habitations reported to have contaminated drinking water sources due to fluoride, arsenic, iron, salinity and heavy metals since 2023, year and State/UT-wise; (b) whether the Government has assessed the number of rural and urban households receiving potable tap water meeting Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) drinking water standards since 2023, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (c) the details of drinking water samples tested in laboratories and through Field Testing Kits (FTKs) since 2023, year and State/UT-wise; and (d) whether the Government maintains data on the time taken between detection of contamination through FTKs and completion of remedial action and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PATIL) (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the table of the House. Page 1 of 5Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *278 answered on 06.08.2026 regarding “Contaminated Drinking Water Sources” asked by Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade (a) to (d) 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 financial, policy guidance and technical assistance. 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 JJM, 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. At the start of the Mission, only 3.24 crore (16.72%) rural households were reported to have tap water connection in the country. As on 18.07.2026, out of 19.36 crore rural households, around 15.89 crore (82.09%) rural households have been provided tap water connection. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to households, priority is given to habitations affected by chemical contaminants. States/ UTs have been advised to plan and implement piped water supply schemes based on alternative safe water sources/ bulk water transfer for the villages with water quality issues. Moreover, any water supply scheme undertaken under JJM is approved after the recommendation of Source Finding Committee of the respective State Government, to the effect that the identified water source planned under the scheme, has sufficient yield for sustaining water supply as per required norm. In consultation with various stakeholders 'Concise Handbook for Monitoring Water Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households’ was released in December 2024 for guidance to States/ UT’s. This handbook recommended for a comprehensive testing of drinking water samples at various testing points such as source, treatment plant, storage and distribution points, and remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality (BIS:10500). The recommended remedial actions include the immediate closure of chemically contaminated water sources, notifying the result to the relevant authorities and affected communities, providing safe drinking water as per JJM guidelines (at least 8-10 lpcd) through a safe source or through alternate means immediately within 24 hrs till piped water supply is restored, implementing emergency treatment measures, actions such as cleaning of OHTs, check pipe line leakage, etc. within 7 days, testing all basic and area-specific chemical as well as bacteriological parameters, and, if found safe, restore water supply from a safe source in case of chemical contaminants. On the other hand, in case of bacterial contamination, immediate action (within 24 hrs) must be taken, which includes proper disinfection, intimate concern for authority and affected communities, and temporary arrangement to provide safe drinking water through tankers (8 -10 lpcd). Page 2 of 5The State/ UT-wise details of numbers of drinking water samples tested during 2023-24, 2024- 25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 are annexed. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has informed that Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) launched in the year 2015 in selected 500 cities and towns across the country was focused on development of basic infrastructure in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, etc. To expand the coverage, AMRUT 2.0 was launched in the year 2021 in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ cities, enabling the cities to become 'self-reliant' and 'water secure'. Through AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0, and in convergence with the States, about 270 lakh water tap connections have been provided in urban areas across the country. ***** Page 3 of 5Annex Annex referred in reply to part (c) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 278 answered on 06.08.2026 State-wise details of water quality testing reported by States/UTs FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of S. State samples samples samples samples samples samples samples samples No. tested in tested using tested in tested using tested in tested using tested in tested using laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs 1. A&N Islands 984 351 1,172 160 2,723 1,552 666 92 2. Andhra Pr. 6,99,999 4,64,831 6,86,179 2,76,342 7,15,401 3,56,507 2,03,602 1,36,400 3. Arunachal Pr. 39,238 33,490 22,271 10,689 10,364 3,904 1,523 122 4. Assam 2,97,405 12,14,852 2,70,466 8,37,769 2,05,120 4,24,494 61,276 86,996 5. Bihar 1,60,783 49,736 2,74,547 1,412 1,36,626 29,557 46,153 24,262 6. Chhattisgarh 1,23,175 2,97,229 1,60,891 2,03,657 1,01,593 1,11,981 30,333 39,353 7. DDNH - 3,060 - 178 - - - - 8. Goa 10,336 22 13,660 - 7,530 - 833 - 9. Gujarat 1,53,057 2,92,444 71,204 4,25,718 3,12,531 2,80,206 1,26,567 33,172 10. Haryana 69,702 37,996 60,757 16,896 44,717 252 19,130 6,366 11. Himachal Pr. 2,20,428 1,47,982 2,41,458 1,30,389 2,75,154 2,78,346 72,519 30,463 12. Jammu & Kashmir 2,53,364 34,793 2,66,547 2,129 3,10,370 33 98,899 83 13. Jharkhand 2,14,431 7,85,488 2,18,562 6,99,655 2,10,621 2,85,324 74,109 4,47,843 14. Karnataka 2,66,532 2,15,742 3,21,759 9,21,677 2,56,206 8,01,512 1,05,056 13,06,825 15. Kerala 6,36,043 2,27,651 7,00,732 612 3,63,041 9,899 94,137 4,780 16. Ladakh 7,706 1,809 10,229 623 8,325 462 672 13 17. Lakshadweep 6,880 475 7,897 - 3,576 20 814 - 18. Madhya Pr. 5,74,409 6,56,077 5,74,798 3,52,198 4,88,653 1,70,645 2,39,906 2,59,465 19. Maharashtra 6,42,396 2,46,187 5,87,570 3,56,666 5,47,688 3,60,170 2,21,392 1,47,047 20. Manipur 17,413 16,352 19,508 11,085 5,773 1,462 1,157 768 21. Meghalaya 51,836 17,172 40,657 14,606 37,580 9,980 21,165 11,194 22. Mizoram 29,224 7,381 21,908 3,377 7,788 1,198 2,628 181 23. Nagaland 7,947 20,249 6,751 15,590 1,258 6,279 449 369 Page 4 of 5FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of S. State samples samples samples samples samples samples samples samples No. tested in tested using tested in tested using tested in tested using tested in tested using laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs laboratory FTKs 24. Odisha 2,60,445 4,02,332 2,72,406 2,49,298 2,42,555 3,82,149 91,098 54,142 25. Puducherry 818 - 287 18 - - - 45 26. Punjab 33,107 1,46,504 67,481 1,14,956 69,953 90,637 23,279 55,835 27. Rajasthan 1,98,476 3,64,778 1,80,063 66,845 73,144 10,495 13,594 15,408 28. Sikkim 15,527 9,566 17,297 5,803 8,436 49 3,460 581 29. Tamil Nadu 8,48,706 9,12,785 9,07,742 4,40,081 9,43,022 47,997 3,53,094 1,80,077 30. Telangana 2,91,673 1 2,85,183 - 2,78,446 - 89,247 16 31. Tripura 50,701 61,371 82,287 52,494 55,538 20,593 18,976 5,977 32. Uttar Pr. 6,23,246 35,89,028 0,67,899 38,34,685 8,25,798 10,26,956 1,78,830 6,20,567 33. Uttarakhand 1,19,958 34,975 1,25,553 1,520 1,06,444 33 43,250 - 34. West Bengal 5,74,096 5,61,487 6,82,526 3,37,058 4,74,910 2,74,735 91,110 24,998 Total 75,00,041 1,08,54,196 82,68,247 93,84,186 71,30,884 49,87,427 23,28,924 34,93,440 * As on date Source: JJM-WQMIS Page 5 of 5