In a bid to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality as well as on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household by the year 2024, since August 2019, the Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal in partnership with states. As per existing guidelines, under the government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, IS 10500 is to be adopted for ensuring the supply of safe drinking water and also, states and union territories have been advised by the centre to carry out testing of sources of drinking water once in a year for chemical and physical parameters as well as twice in a year for bacteriological parameters, the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad Singh Patel said in a written reply in Lok Sabha recently.
According to the minister, in order to encourage water quality testing to ensure the supply of potable drinking water to people, states and union territories have been advised by the central government to open water quality testing laboratories to the general public at a nominal rate for testing of their water samples. Moreover, states and union territories have been advised to identify and train five persons preferably women in each village viz. health workers, ASHA workers, teachers, VWSC members, etc., to conduct tests on water quality using FTKs/ bacteriological vials at village level and also, report the same on the portal, the minister further said.
According to the ministry, ground water quality data is generated by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) on regional scale during various scientific studies as well as ground water monitoring programme throughout the country. The ground water quality data has been shared with concerned states for taking remedial measures, awareness as well as monitoring the usage of drinking water. Patel said on 24 September 2020, the revised guidelines have been issued for regulation of ground water withdrawal by industrial, infrastructure as well as mining projects. The revised guidelines have provisions for the prevention of pollution and contamination of groundwater, he added.