**Executive Summary**
This document reports on the contaminated water supply incident in Indore, including details of the government's response, compensation to affected families, and measures taken to prevent future incidents. It outlines the support provided to states and urban local bodies (ULBs) for water supply infrastructure and monitoring, under programs like AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0. It also addresses accountability, detailing disciplinary actions taken against responsible officers. The question was asked on February 12, 2026, and refers to an event occurring in December 2025, and outlines action taken by January 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Incident Overview:**
* A contaminated drinking water supply incident occurred in Indore, reported to the government on 28.12.2025.
* The incident resulted in vomiting and diarrhoea cases in the Bhagirath Pura area.
* The incident resulted in 16 verified deaths.
* **Government Response:**
* The State Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) responded jointly.
* Medical attention was provided to affected individuals, including hospitalization.
* Water supply through pipelines and borewells was stopped, and water tankers were deployed.
* Water samples were sent to NABL-accredited labs for testing.
* Immediate remedial action was initiated, including leak detection and repair.
* ₹40 lakh compensation was provided to the families of the deceased from Bhagirath Pura.
* AIIMS Bhopal experts visited Indore on 03.01.2026 and shared treatment protocols.
* **Preventative Measures and Long-Term Solutions:**
* Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were issued to ULBs to prevent water contamination.
* Leakage detection and repair activities are ongoing, with over 12,634 leakages repaired.
* Overhead tanks and tubewells are being cleaned and monitored.
* A "Swacchh Jal Abhiyaan" campaign was launched to ensure drinking water quality.
* **Infrastructure and Monitoring Support:**
* The Government of India supports states through schemes like AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 for water supply infrastructure projects.
* AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0 supports the augmentation/rehabilitation of infrastructure.
* AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0 supports the creation/augmentation of Water Treatment Plants (WTPs).
* AMRUT 2.0 advocates incorporating smart components in water supply schemes.
* AMRUT projects have led to the creation/augmentation of sewage treatment capacity.
* Drinking water quality arrangement in urban areas is governed by standards and guidelines issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
* **Accountability and Disciplinary Actions:**
* Disciplinary action has been taken against officers responsible for lapses.
* Transfers and suspensions have been issued to relevant officials, including the Commissioner, IMC and the Executive Engineer (Narmada).
* Departmental inquiries have been initiated, and actions such as termination of employment have been taken.
* **Judicial Review:**
* The matter is sub judice, and a one-man commission of inquiry has been appointed by the High Court to investigate the incident.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Residents of Indore, specifically Bhagirath Pura**
* **Impact:** Affected by contaminated water, resulting in illness and death.
* **Action Required:** Access medical treatment, cooperate with health officials, and await the findings of the commission of inquiry for potential compensation guidelines.
**Stakeholder: State Government of Madhya Pradesh**
* **Impact:** Responsible for monitoring, enforcement, and corrective action for drinking water safety.
* **Action Required:** Implement SOPs, continue leak detection and repair, monitor water quality, and cooperate with the commission of inquiry.
**Stakeholder: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC)**
* **Impact:** Responsible for operation, maintenance, and replacement of old pipelines.
* **Action Required:** Implement SOPs, ensure water supply system integrity, cooperate with the commission of inquiry, and participate in AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0 initiatives.
**Stakeholder: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs**
* **Impact:** Provides financial and technical support to States.
* **Action Required:** Continue supporting states through AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0, monitor project implementation, and ensure compliance with drinking water quality standards.
Key Entities Referenced
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): A government of India scheme to improve urban infrastructure, including water supply.
Indore: The city where the contaminated water supply incident occurred.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The central ministry responsible for urban development programs and policies including AMRUT.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): Sets the standards and guidelines for drinking water quality through IS 10500: Drinking Water - Specification.
Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta Commission: A one-man commission of inquiry appointed by the High Court to investigate the water contamination incident in Bhagirath Pura, Indore.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2273
TO BE ANSWERED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2026
CONTAMINATED WATER SUPPLY AT INDORE
NO. 2273. PROF. SOUGATA RAY:
Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to
state:
(a) the details of the recent incident of supply of contaminated drinking
water at Indore;
(b) the number of deaths reported due to the said incident;
(c) the total number of residents affected by illness as a result of
consumption of contaminated water;
(d) the reasons behind the occurrence of such contamination in the
drinking water supply;
(e) whether the Government has any proper mechanism in place to
monitor and check the quality of drinking water being supplied
across the country and if so, the details thereof; and
(f) whether responsibility for the said incident has been fixed on any
official or bureaucrat and if so, the details thereof along with the
action taken thereon?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
(SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)
(a) to (e): Water is a State subject. The State Governments are
responsible for monitoring, enforcement, and corrective action for
drinking water safety. The operation, maintenance and replacement of old
deteriorated pipelines is the responsibility of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/
parastatals. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States
through schematic interventions/ advisories. It provides financial and
technical support to the States through various schemes/ Missions such
as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and
AMRUT 2.0 for approved infrastructure projects.
The State Government of Madhya Pradesh has informed that
occurrence of drinking water contamination has been reported from
Indore Municipal Corporation. Immediately upon receiving information on
28.12.2025 regarding incidents of vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirath
Pura area, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) along with the Health
…2/--2-
Department and Public Health Engineering Department initiated a joint
and prompt response. First and foremost, all sick patients were attended
to and the ones who were serious, were hospitalized in super-specialty
Medical College and Private Hospital. Not so sick were attended to by
Health and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers with
door-to-door survey and distribution of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
packets and Chlorine tablets for Water disinfection. Water Supply through
pipelines and borewells were completely stopped and water tankers were
forced into service. Samples were taken from multiple supply points at
user end to ascertain the type of contamination and sent to National
Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)
accredited labs. Immediate remedial action like identifications of
leakages, possibility of inter mixing of contaminated water was taken up
and repair works started.
As informed by the State, 16 deaths have been verified by the Chief
Medical & Health Officer/ Death Audit Committee of MGM Medical College,
Indore. The State Government has provided ex-gratia financial assistance
to the families of the deceased as per prevailing State norms. ₹40 lakh
compensation was given to the deceased from Bhagirath Pura. Medical
treatment to affected persons was provided free of cost in Government/
Private hospitals. In Bhagirath Pura, 35,421 households were surveyed by
health officials in which 1,64,942 people were screened. 454 patients
were admitted to hospital out of which 441 have been discharged. AIIMS
Bhopal experts visited Indore on 03.01.2026 and shared protocol
regarding the treatment during meetings and 24X7 medical facility has
been ensured by the State.
The matter is sub judice vide Writ Petition no. 247 of 2026 and others
in the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore. Hon’ble High Court
in their order dated 27.01.2026 appointed Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta,
former Judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of
inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirath Pura,
Indore. The terms of reference of the Commission include submission of
report on the cause of contamination and provide its inputs on public
health on matters such as number of actual deaths of affected residents
on account of contaminated water, nature of disease reported, adequacy
of medical response and preventive measures, immediate steps required
to ensure safe drinking water, long-term infrastructural and monitoring
reforms, and identification and fixing responsibility upon the officers and
officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water
contamination incident and suggest guidelines for compensation to
affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
…3/--3-
The State Government has also informed that Standard Operating
Procedures have been issued to Urban Local Bodies to avoid
contamination of water. About 14,181 leakages were detected so far out
of which 12,634 leakages have been repaired. Out of 3,298 Over Head
Tanks in the State, 3,109 have been cleaned. Similarly, out of 21,215
tubewells, 179 were found polluted and 86 tubewells were closed for use.
Regular testing of quality of water is ensured. 656 water samples were
found fail out of 80,976 samples, while action was taken at 588 points
where pollution was detected. Issues of contamination of water were
resolved through 2,821 Jal Sunwai.
A Statewide Clean Water Campaign “Swacchh Jal Abhiyaan” has
been launched from January 10, 2026 with the objective of ensuring the
quality of drinking water supplied to citizens in urban and rural areas of
the State, building public trust in the water supply system, etc.
Under AMRUT/ AMRUT 2.0, the States/ UTs are empowered to select,
appraise, prioritise and implement the projects as per their local
requirements including augmentation/ rehabilitation of infrastructure as
per Mission guidelines. Under AMRUT 2.0, cities have prepared City Water
Balance Plans (CWBPs), which include as-is assessment of water supply
systems which help cities/ ULBs to identify vulnerabilities and prioritise
system-strengthening measures.
To ensure safe drinking water supply to the urban households,
AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0 supports, rehabilitation and upgradation of water
supply network and creation/augmentation of Water Treatment Plants
(WTPs) plants. Under AMRUT, a total of 73,520 km of water supply pipeline
network has been laid or replaced. Under AMRUT 2.0, about 1.26 lakh km
of water supply network has been approved in the sanctioned projects, of
which 22,332 km pertains to replacement of the existing water supply
network. To provide drinkable water from taps under AMRUT 2.0, 408
round the clock projects (24x7) covering 1152 District Metered Area
(DMAs) and benefitting around 16.72 lakh households have been approved
to mitigate contaminations in intermittent water supply systems. So far,
6140 Million Litre per Day (MLD) of WTP capacity has been approved under
AMRUT, of which, 5,330 MLD WTP capacity has been created. Under
AMRUT 2.0, 11,393 MLD WTP capacity has been approved so far. These
treatment plants are generally equipped with inhouse lab facilities or have
tie up with the Labs for regular water quality testing.
To strengthen monitoring system AMRUT 2.0 advocates
incorporation of smart components in water supply schemes, including
online water quality sensors, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
…4/--4-
(SCADA) systems, GIS-based asset mapping, bulk and consumer metering,
and AI/IoT-based monitoring solutions. Under AMRUT, 258 water supply
schemes have been implemented with SCADA. Under AMRUT 2.0, 1,415
water supply projects have provision for SCADA system. In addition, under
AMRUT Mitra initiative, women Self Help Groups are engaged by ULBs for
collection of water quality testing at field level.
Further for safe disposal of sewage in urban areas, under AMRUT, a
total of 889 sewerage and septage management projects amounting to
₹34,467 crore have been grounded. Through these projects, about 6,299
MLD of sewage treatment capacity has been approved. Of this, 4,843 MLD
of sewage treatment capacity (new/augmented) has been created, out of
which 1,437 MLD capacity has been developed for recycle and reuse of
treated waste water. Under AMRUT 2.0, 583 sewerage/septage projects
worth ₹66117.69 crore have been approved by Ministry of Housing and
Urban Affairs (MoHUA) so far. Approved projects cover 6,649 MLD sewage
treatment capacity (new/augmentation) of which 1,931 MLD sewage
treatment capacity is for recycle/reuse.
Drinking water quality arrangement in urban areas is governed by
standards and guidelines issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
primarily IS 10500: Drinking Water - Specification. Water quality testing for
compliance and regulatory reporting should be conducted in NABL
accredited laboratories conforming to ISO/IEC 7025. The Ministry has also
published Manual on Water Supply and Treatment Systems (Drink from
Tap) in March 2024 (https://mohua.gov.in/publication/manual-on-water-
supply-and-treatment-systems---drink-from-tap---march-2024.php), for
reference by the States/ ULBs for designing and implementation of the
water supply projects. The manual has a Chapter on “Drinking water
quality monitoring and surveillance”, which outlines the standard
procedures for various components of drinking water quality monitoring
and surveillance and sanitary surveillance (inspection) activities to be
undertaken by Urban Water Service Providers.
(f): The State Government has informed that disciplinary action has
been taken against the officers responsible for lapses in discharge of
duties in connection with the Indore incident. The Commissioner, IMC and
the Additional Commissioner & in-charge of Drinking Water Supply were
transferred. The Executive Engineer (Narmada) has been placed under
suspension for serious lapse in discharge of duties related to the incident.
The Assistant Engineer, Zone No. 04, and Zonal Officer, Zone No. 04, Ward
No. 11, were placed under suspension for carelessness, negligence, and
disobedience of orders of senior officers, and departmental inquiries have
been initiated against them. Muster Sub-Engineer, Zone No. 04, Ward No.
11 has been relieved from duty (terminated), his remuneration was
stopped, and his employment ID was permanently locked.
*****