Parliament Question: Poor water quality

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1033 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2026 POOR WATER QUALITY 1033. SHRI DEREK O’ BRIEN: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) State/UT-wise and city-wise household-level compliance with BIS drinking water standards; (b) the number of drinking water samples collected State/UT wise and city-wise; and (c) the number of samples that have passed the WTP level, State/UT wise and city-wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (c): Water is a state subject and management and maintaining the quality of water as per the applicable standards in urban areas is the responsibility of State Government/ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). 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. 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. 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. Details of the sanitary survey and the methodology to carry out water quality testing have been explained in Section 7.9 of Chapter 7: “Water Quality Testing and Laboratory Facilities” in Part A of this manual. ULBs/ Parastatal conduct testing of water at Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and household levels as per applicable norms. As reported by the States/UTs on the AMRUT 2.0 platform during the period from 1st January, 2024 to 31st December, 2024, a total of 3,32,170 water quality samples out of 3,35,278 samples tested at WTPs and 22,18,838 samples out of 22,45,200 samples tested at the household level were found compliant for the parameters E. coli, Arsenic and Fluoride. Under AMRUT Mitra initiative, women Self Help Groups are engaged for water quality testing in the field by the ULBs. *****