Parliament Question: Drinking water supply and quality concerns in urban Patna

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1861 ANSWERED ON 09/03/2026 DRINKING WATER SUPPLY AND QUALITY CONCERNS IN URBAN PATNA 1861. SHRI AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether parts of Patna face drinking water shortages and quality issues, particularly during summer months; (b) the projects sanctioned for Patna under Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) or other central water supply schemes; (c) whether contamination of groundwater or pipeline leakages have been reported; and (d) the steps taken to ensure safe, adequate and sustainable drinking water supply to the growing urban population of Patna? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (d) As informed by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), ‘water’ is a State subject and the Ministry supplements the efforts of the States/ UTs through schematic interventions/advisories. It provides financial and technical support to the States/ UTs through various Mission/ Schemes such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and AMRUT 2.0. AMRUT, launched in 2015 in selected 500 cities (now 485 cities including 15 merged cities) and towns across the country, was focused on development of basic infrastructure, in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, etc. in these selected urban areas. AMRUT 2.0 was launched in 2021 and covers all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ cities, enabling the cities to become 'self-reliant' and 'water secure'. Under the Missions, States/UTs are empowered to select, appraise, prioritize and implement projects. Under AMRUT, the State of Bihar has not taken up any water supply project in Patna district. Under AMRUT 2.0, the State has taken up 02 water supply projects worth ₹1,407.56 crore in Patna District covering 4.23 lakh new/service water tap connections, laying of about 2,239 km of water supply network, of which 150 km pertains to replacement of the existing water supply network and development of 198.77 Million Litre per Day (MLD) of WTP capacity. Water being a State subject, MoHUA does not maintain data related to water pipeline leakages in ULBs. However, to ensure safe drinking water supply to the urban households, AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0 supports rehabilitation and upgradation of water supply networks and creation/augmentation of Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) plants. To strengthen monitoring Page 1 of 2framework, 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. ***** Page 2 of 2