PARLIAMENT QUESTION: Scientific Assessment of Groundwater Contamination in Industrial and River Basins of Uttar Pradesh
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: Scientific Assessment of Groundwater Contamination in Industrial and River Basins of Uttar Pradesh
CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, (CSIR-IITR) – a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has conducted three sponsored studies for the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Department across multiple districts of Uttar Pradesh for the analysis of ground water quality and mapping:
Further, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur has evaluated Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, namely Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Agra and Mathura, under a project sponsored by the Central Pollution Control Board. Borewell water samples from industrial areas near the Yamuna and Hindon rivers showed heavy metal concentrations within permissible limits (BIS 10500).
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti generates groundwater quality data at a regional scale across the country, including state of Uttar Pradesh, through its groundwater quality monitoring programme and scientific studies conducted as per the approved Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). As per the Annual Ground Water Quality Report – 2025 recently released by the CGBW, localized occurrence of arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity, uranium, manganese, lead and nitrate in ground water in excess of the limits prescribed for drinking water use has been observed across Uttar Pradesh. The district-wise details of the same is at Annexure-I. The complete Annual Ground Water Quality Report – 2025 is available at https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/ 1762854375262680475 file.pdf
Central Ground Water Board carries out Annual Ground Water Resource Estimation (GWRE) to generate updated estimates of groundwater availability, extraction and stage of groundwater development, and to analyse trends in recharge and withdrawal.
The assessment of data collected for the State of Uttar Pradesh from 2017 to 2025 indicates that:
CGWB has prepared a Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 which envisages construction of about 23,668 artificial recharge and rain-water harvesting structures and 20.57 sq. km area for roof-top rainwater harvesting in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Also, CGWB has completed the National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) Project for the entire mappable area of about 2.40 lakh sq. km in Uttar Pradesh. The Aquifer maps and management plans have been shared with state agencies for implementation.
Further, the National Water Policy (2012) advocates rainwater harvesting, water conservation, and the scientific preservation of rivers and water bodies through community participation. It strictly prohibits encroachment or diversion of water bodies and drainage channels, and where such encroachments have occurred, it calls for their restoration wherever feasible. Additionally, the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Management and Regulation Act-2019 is in force to regulate groundwater extraction in the state.
Several steps have been taken by the Central Government for facilitating ground water quality improvement/ remediation of pollutants in the country including Uttar Pradesh alongwith a combination of preventive, treatment, and management strategies to ensure safe drinking water and mitigate groundwater contamination by various pollutants. The brief details of the aforesaid are at Annexure – II.
For real time monitoring and better groundwater management in Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has initiated strengthening and automation of the groundwater monitoring network. Under this initiative, 172 Digital Water Level Recorders (DWLRs) have been installed on existing piezometers under the National Hydrology Project (NHP), providing high-frequency groundwater level data at 6-hour intervals. The expanded and automated monitoring network will ensure wider and denser coverage and near real-time data, thereby improving the accuracy of groundwater resource estimation and supporting special studies such as groundwater recharge which in turn will aid evidence-based planning and local-level groundwater management in the Uttar Pradesh State.
This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent charge) for the Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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NKR/AK/NM
Annexure-I
Ground Water Quality Status for State of Uttar Pradesh (as per Annual Ground Water Quality Yearbook-2025
Parameter
No. of samples analyzed
No. of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits
% of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits
No. of partially affected districts
Name of Partially affected districts
Electrical conductivity (EC)/Salinity
(EC > 3000 µS/cm at 25°C)
1333
31
2.33
11
Agra, Aligarh, Amethi, Etawah, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur, Hathras, Mainpuri, Mathura
Fluoride (F–)
(F > 1.5 mg/L)
1333
54
4.05
24
Agra, Aligarh, Auraiya, Azamgarh, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghazipur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kaushambi, Lucknow, Mahoba, Mainpuri, Mathura, Meerut, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Sonbhadra, Unnao
Nitrate (NO32-)
(Nitrate > 45mg/L)
1333
107
8.03
48
Agra, Aligarh, Amethi, Amroha, Auraiya, Baghpat, Balrampur, Banda, Bijnor, Budaun, Chitrakoot, Etah, Etawah, Fatehpur, Firozabad, G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hamirpur, Hapur, Hathras, Jalaun, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kasganj, Kaushambi, Lalitpur, Lucknow, Mahoba, Mainpuri, Mathura, Meerut, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Prayagraj, Rampur, Sambhal, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Shamli, Siddharth Nagar, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi
Arsenic (As)
(As > 10 ppb)
612
23
3.76
14
Bahraich , Balrampur , Ballia, Barabanki, Bareilly, Bijnor, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Moradabad, Pilibhit , Rampur, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur
Iron (Fe)
(Fe > 1.0 mg/L)
601
144
23.96
46
Amethi, Amroha, Auraiya, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Balrampur, Ballia , Barabanki, Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Chandauli , Chitrakoot, Etah , Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Gonda, Hamirpur, Hardoi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Kushi Nagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Mahrajganj, Maunath Bhanjan, Meerut, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Pratapgarh, Raebareli, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Shrawasti, Siddharth Nagar, Sitapur, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi
Uranium
(U > 30 ppb)
612
29
4.74
22
Agra, Aligarh, Banda, Bijnor, Budaun, Etah , G.B. Nagar, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur , Jalaun, Jhansi, Kannauj , Kanpur Dehat , Lalitpur, Mahoba, Meerut, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Shahjahanpur, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi
Lead (Pb > 0.01 mg/L)
581
2
0.34
2
Budaun, Chandauli
Manganese
(Mn > 0.3 mg/L)
610
49
8.03
26
Amroha, Auraiya , Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Chitrakoot, Etah , Fatehpur, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur , Gorakhpur , Hardoi, Jhansi, Kushi Nagar , Lakhimpur Kheri , Lalitpur, Mahoba, Mathura, Meerut, Mirzapur , Moradabad, Pilibhit , Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Unnao, Varanasi
Annexure – II