Parliament Question: India's water crisis

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1054 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2026 INDIA’S WATER CRISIS 1054. SMT. PRIYANKA CHATURVEDI: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether Government acknowledges India ranks 120th of 122 countries for safe drinking water, with its own agencies flagging uranium groundwater contamination, sewage mixing and toxic rain; (b) the details of the CAG audit flagging Delhi drinking water risks exceeding permissible contamination limits; (c) whether crisis represents scarcity or mismanagement - India receives 4,000 billion cubic meters of annual rainfall yet faces shortages; (d) concrete measures addressing uranium contamination, sewage separation, pipeline replacement and toxic discharge; and (e) timeline ensuring safe piped water or should citizens be perpetually dependent on expensive purification? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (e) There is no universally accepted global water quality ranking of countries. 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 the Jal Jeevan Mission, 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. 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 technical and financial assistance. Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of JJM, towards enhancing access to tap water for rural households. At the start of JJM in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by State/UTs, more than 12.56 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 05.02.2026, out of 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, more than 15.79 Crore households are reported to have tap water connections in their homes. (Source: JJM-IMIS) Page 1 of 2Further, to achieve 100 per cent coverage through continued implementation of mission with focus on quality of infrastructure and Operation & Maintenance of rural piped water supply schemes for long term sustainability and citizen centric water service delivery, Hon'ble Finance Minister during her budget speech 2025-26 has announced extension of Jal Jeevan Mission till December 2028 with enhanced total outlay. For groundwater quality assessment, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates groundwater quality data at a regional scale across the country, through its groundwater quality monitoring programme and scientific studies conducted as per the approved Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Recently, the Annual Ground Water Quality Report – 2025 has been released by the CGWB, which can be viewed at: https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/1762854375262680475file.pdf The Central Pollution Control Board has informed that the Central Government has notified Standards for Sewage Treatment Plants on 13/10/2017 vide G.S.R. 1265(E) to be discharged into rivers and these standards are enforced by State Pollution Control Boards. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at present monitors water quality of aquatic resources in the country in association with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) at 4922 locations including 2260 locations on Rivers, 587 on Lakes, 143 on Ponds, 102 on Tanks, 1271 Ground Water locations and 559 monitoring locations on other water bodies under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP). Under JJM, States/UTs have been advised for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, reuse of greywater, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, and other schemes of Ministry of Rural Development etc. In addition, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) with the tagline: Catch The Rain, Where It falls, When It Falls, was expanded pan-India in 2021, with five focused interventions –(1) water conservation and rainwater harvesting, (2) enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation based on it, (3) Setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts, (4) intensive afforestation and (5) awareness generation. The Abhiyan was scaled up to cover all districts, blocks, and municipalities across the country (rural as well as urban). The 6th edition of JSA: CTR was launched on 22nd March 2025 with the theme "Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari: Jan Jagrukta Ki Or". ***** Page 2 of 2