Increasing Ground Water Pollution

  Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates ground water quality data of the country on a regional scale as part of its ground water quality monitoring program and various scientific studies. These studies indicate the occurrence of contaminants such as Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrate, Iron and Heavy Metals beyond permissible limits in various States / UTs. The ground water contamination is mostly geogenic in nature and does not show significant change over the years. However, nitrate contamination is mostly anthropogenic and its spread has been noticed in some areas, particularly areas adjoining habitations. Further, nitrate contamination can also be caused by excessive use of fertilizers.

State-wise details of contamination of ground water in the country including rural areas are given at Annexure.

Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management, including controlling pollution of groundwater is primarily States’s responsibility; however, various steps have been taken by the Central Government in this regard in the country. Some of them can be listed as under:

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) is implementing the provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control pollution in water.  CPCB has

made a comprehensive programme on water pollution for controlling point sources by developing industry specific standards and general standards for discharge of effluents notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for enforcement by SPCBs/PCCs.  As per the directives of CPCB, Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) are installed by the industrial units in the country for getting real time information on the effluent quality and non-complying units are identified for follow-up inspections and actions.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has issued guidelines for control and regulation of groundwater extraction with pan-India applicability notified on 24 September 2020.  The guidelines include suitable provisions on measures to be adopted to ensure groundwater free from pollution.

The groundwater pollution owe its origin to contamination of surface water sources also which upon percolation pollute the groundwater aquifer system and therefore, various efforts have been made in the country to address this by installing Sewage Treatment Plants, Effluent Treatment Plants and better system of sewage networks etc. However, the adverse effects of the groundwater pollution can be addressed to a large extent if safe water is made available to public. With this aim, central Government in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality to every rural household in the country by 2024.   

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written  reply in Rajya Sabha today.

ANNEXURE

States Wise Number of Partly Affected Districts with different Contaminants in Ground Water of India.

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BY/AS