A population of 1.47 crore across almost 17,000 areas in the country faces a major health hazard due to arsenic contaminated drinking water, according to the latest data of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation.
Arsenic is present in drinking water above the permissible limits in 16,889 areas while 12,029 areas have high levels of flouride and 2384 habitations have heavy metal contamination.
These areas are part of the list of 70,793 places (habitations) where drinking water is contaminated — either with heavy metals, iron, nitrates or even high degree of salinity, cited by the government last month in a written reply to a question on water contamination in Parliament.
According to the national rural drinking water programme’s (NRDWP), the number of habitations with contaminated water is 69,267 with a population of 4.56 crore.
Out of this, 16,609 areas have high arsenic in the water.
The ministry said West Bengal leads in arsenic contamination with 9756 areas affected while Assam is second with 4416 areas.
While the total number of habitations with contaminated water has come down in the last five years, the figures are rising again.
The data submitted by the states on number of arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate and heavy metal affected habitations (more than the prescribed limit found in drinking water sources) is incorporated into the ministry’s Integrated Management Information System (IMIS).
Arsenic is one of the most dangerous contaminants of drinking water.
Officials in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, however, said funds provided to the states under NRDWP can be utilized for coverage and tackling water quality problems with priority to fluoride and arsenic affected habitations.