Parliament Question: Deaths due to sewage contamination in drinking water

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 22 ANSWERED ON 02/02/2026 DEATH DUE TO SEWAGE CONTAMINATION IN DRINKING WATER 22. SMT. PRIYANKA CHATURVEDI: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether Government is aware of recent sewage contamination in drinking water supplies across the States of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, causing over 5,500 illnesses and at least 34 deaths in last 12 months, including 17-20 in Indore alone; (b) the complete details of each incident, including locations affected, persons fallen ill, deaths reported, causes, contamination duration before detection and emergency response time; and (c) whether real-time water quality monitoring systems are established at source and distribution points with mandatory testing protocols or Government relies on post contamination reactive measures after deaths occur? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PATIL) (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the table of the House. Page 1 of 6Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Rajya Sabha starred question no. 22 answered on 02/02/2026 regarding “Death due to sewage contamination in drinking water” asked by Smt. Priyanka Chaturvedi (a) to (c): 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) /AMRUT 2.0 for urban areas and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in rural areas for approved infrastructure projects. The State Government of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have informed that occurrence of drinking water contamination has been reported from Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation and Balasinor Municipality in Gujarat and urban Indore Municipal Corporation in Madhya Pradesh. As informed by the State of Madhya Pradesh, on 28.12.2025, incidents of vomiting and diarrhoea were reported in the Bhagirathpura area which falls under Ward No. 11, Zone-4, Assembly Constituency Indore. The State Government has informed that immediately upon receiving information on 28.12.2025 regarding incidents of vomiting and diarrhoea in Bhagirath Pura, Indore, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) along with the Health 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 of repute. 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. The area has old pipelines dating 1997 and some of it is damaged. Municipal administration has identified the old stretches of pipeline in Bhagirathpura area and 9.5 km of pipelines has been laid before the incident. Thereafter, new contract for laying of 5.8 km pipeline has been awarded of which 0.965 km pipeline has been laid. Page 2 of 6The 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. As informed by State of Gujarat, the reported incidents of drinking water contamination during the last twelve months were localised and promptly addressed, with no mortality reported. In Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, a localized typhoid outbreak was detected on 29.12.2025 in Sectors 24, 26, 27, 28 and Adivada, affecting 233 persons, with no deaths; contamination was identified within one week, and emergency response was initiated within one hour on the same day, including deployment of Rapid Response Teams, medical management, intensive surveillance, chlorination, and public health advisories. In Balasinor Municipality, Mahisagar District, a Hepatitis outbreak from October 2025 due to leakage in ageing pipelines adjacent to drains led to 465 cases, nil deaths, detected through routine surveillance and managed through pipeline repairs, super-chlorination, sealing of sources, alternate safe water supply and administrative oversight. As informed by State, the State has established water quality monitoring systems at source and distribution levels, with mandatory testing protocols, automated chlorination at water distribution stations and borewells, routine bacteriological and chemical testing through accredited laboratories, and continuous surveillance for water quality monitoring and testing. The States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh has informed that no incidents of illness or deaths have been reported due to sewage contamination in drinking water supplies in the ULB areas during the last 12 months. The State of Uttar Pradesh has also informed that complaints were received from Sector Delta-1 and Sector Alpha-2 of Greater Noida under the Grater Noida Authority. Immediate inspection revealed leakage in water connections in localized stretches, which were promptly rectified. Water samples collected from the affected areas were tested, and laboratory reports received so far indicate conformity with prescribed drinking water quality Page 3 of 6standards. In Haryana, an incident was reported in a private colony in sector 70-70A, Gurugram in December, 2025. The master supply of water is provided by Gurugram Municipal Development Authority (GMDA). After enquiry by the coloniser, the water storage tanks of individual house owners were found unclean and the same were cleaned and issue resolved . Under AMRUT & AMRUT 2.0, the State/ 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). 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) costing ₹ 27,864.49 crore 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. An internal assessment also carried out by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in AMRUT cities indicates out of total 776 Operational WTPs, 678 WTPs have inhouse lab facilities and carry out routine water quality testing and other WTPs regularly test through accredited labs. 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 (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 utilised for collection of water samples and facilitation of water quality testing, thereby strengthening field-level monitoring and citizen interface. As reported on the AMRUT 2.0 platform by the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, during the period from 1st January 2024 to October 2025, 88,690 water quality samples out of 93,525 samples tested at WTPs and 7.54 lakh samples out of 7.71 lakh samples tested at the household level were found compliant for the parameters E. coli, Arsenic and Fluoride Page 4 of 6Further 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. Further, in rural areas, to enable States/ UTs to test water samples for water quality, and for sample collection, reporting, monitoring and surveillance of drinking water, an online JJM – Water Quality Management Information System (JJM-WQMIS) portal has been developed. A “Citizen Corner” has been placed on the JJM Dashboard. The “Citizen Corner” includes display of village level water quality test results in the public domain to further create awareness and build confidence among people about the quality of water supplies through the Piped Water Supply (PWS) in rural areas. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, as per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual allocation of funds for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities, inter-alia, which includes setting up and strengthening of water quality testing laboratories, procurement of equipment, instruments, chemicals, glassware, consumables, Page 5 of 6hiring of skilled manpower, surveillance by community using field test kits (FTKs), awareness generation, educational programmes on water quality, accreditation/recognition of laboratories, etc. In consultation with various stakeholders 'Concise Handbook for Monitoring Water Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households’ has been 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. ***** Page 6 of 6