Item No. 03 Court No.
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
Original Application No. 384/2019
(Earlier O.A.No.156/2015)
(With report dated 13.12.2019)
Mrs. Sunita Pandey & Anr. Applicant(s)
Versus
Union of India & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 28.01.2020
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S.P WANGDI, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON’BLE DR. NAGIN NANDA, EXPERT MEMBER
HON’BLE MR. SIDDHANTA DAS, EXPERT MEMBER
For Respondent(s): Dr. Abhishek Atrey, Advocate for MoEF&CC
Mr. Pradeep Mishra, Advocate for UPPCB
Mr. Raj Kumar, Advocate for CPCB
Mr. Ardehendumauli Kumar Prasad, Advocate for
MoWR
ORDER
1. The steps to deal with the problem of contamination of groundwater
due to Arsenic and availability of clean drinking water in Bahraich,
Ballia, Balrampur, Bareilly, Basti, Bijnor, Chandauli, Ghazipur,
Gonda, Ghorakpur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Meerut, Mirzapur, Muradabad,
Rai Bareilly, Santkabirnagar, Shajahanpur, Siddharthnagar, Sant
Ravidas Nagar and Unnao and certain other districts in Uttar
Pradesh and other similarly affected areas in the country including in
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Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab and West Bengal is the
issue for consideration.
2. After considering the matter for more than three years, vide order
dated 25.10.2018, this Tribunal undertook an extensive review on the
subject and noted the gravity of situation shown by high arsenic
content leading to serious diseases and environmental damage in
several districts of Uttar Pradesh. 28 districts of Uttar Pradesh have
been identified as affected by the problem in the report prepared by
the State Water Resources Agency, Uttar Pradesh. A team of the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
found number of deaths from the diseases on account of the problem.
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation also took cognizance
and identified mitigation measures. The Ministry of Agriculture also
identified certain steps to be taken. The matter was discussed in the
Parliament and a report was submitted on the subject. Uttar Pradesh
Jal Nigam identified 310 village hamlets situated in 179 revenue
villages of District Ballia and 165 village hamlets situated in 49
revenue villages in District Lakhimpur Kheri, where shallow ground
water is found to contain Arsenic in excess of permissible limit of
0.05 mg/L, prescribed for potable water by Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS:10500).
3. It was noted that as per inputs available with the CGWB, the Arsenic
is prevailing in the underground water (above 0.05 mg/L or 50 ppb)
in the districts/blocks of Bahraich, Ballia, Balrampur, Bareilly, Basti,
Bijnor, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Gonda, Ghorakpur, Lakhimpur Kheri,
Meerut, Mirzapur, Muradabad, Rai Bareilly, Santkabirnagar,
Shajahanpur, Siddharthnagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Unnao in the
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State of Uttar Pradesh. The well water contained Arsenic, a known
carcinogen that occurs in ground water at concentrations that can
exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level (10 ppb/WHO Standard). In
order to reduce Arsenic exposure, private well-owners can either rely
on treated water for drinking or install in-house water treatment
systems for Arsenic removal.
4. The Tribunal noted that the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) of the
Government of India also prepared a report suggesting an action plan
to mitigate Arsenic contamination and made comprehensive
recommendations on the whole gamut.
5. The Tribunal noted that the matter was highlighted in news item in
Hindustan Times dated 26.11.2015 under the heading “Arsenic
contamination on the rise:1 Lakh dead, 3 lakh suffering”. According
to the said news item, 7.04 crore people are affected by Arsenic
related diseases in 12 States and 1 lakh persons have died as per
report of a Committee of Secretaries. A Joint Inspection Report was
filed before this Tribunal by the Central Pollution Control Board,
MoEF&CC, CWGA and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to the
effect that Arsenic Removal Units were not working properly. Heavy
metals were seen in the water samples. The Tribunal directed
dismantling of hand pumps with concentration of Arsenic beyond
permissible limits.
6. The Tribunal also noted the report of the NITI Aayog published in
June, 2018 on “Water Management Index” to the effect that 70%
water in India is contaminated. India is at 120th number out of 122
countries in water quality index. The report mentions that the acute
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water crisis is being faced by 600 million people. About two lakh
people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.
7. Accordingly, the Tribunal issued directions for remedial action
including a direction to the Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and
Water Resources to file a report compiling information from the
States in terms of the order of the Tribunal.
8. The matter was further considered on 11.09.2019, in light of the
affidavit filed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti on 22.08.2019, mentioning
the steps taken in the matter. The Tribunal observed:
“11. The affidavit filed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti further goes
into the question of responsibilities of different departments
which need not be focused for our consideration. We may only
note that the subject of regulation and control of groundwater
management have been held to be covered by Entry 13 of List
I as these subjects covered by international treaties. 1 The
Central legislation or administrative action for dealing with the
subject is not out of place. Having regard to the fact that more
than 1 Crore population of the Country is affected by the
Arsenic contaminated water which is carcinogenic, issue of
making available potable drinking water to the said
population is a inalienable constitutional duty for which the
Central Government as well as the States have to make all
possible efforts. The problem being in several States, the
Central Government should take lead in the matter in the
interest of health and safety of large population of the
Country.
12. Arsenic is one of major public health concern identified by the
WHO.2 Under the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, the indicator of "safely managed drinking water
services" calls for tracking the population accessing drinking
water which is free of faecal contamination and priority
chemical contaminants, including arsenic.3
13. Accordingly, the existing plan of action needs to relooked as it
has quite relaxed timelines and the strategies needs to
redrawn by a suitable mechanism because of urgency in this
matter. The concerned States may be pushed harder to reduce
the timelines in the action plans and to also consider viable
1 (1997) 11 SCC 312 M.C Mehta Vs. Union of India
2 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic,
3 www.unwater.org › app › uploads › 2018/07 › SDG6_SR2018_web_v5,
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld,
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options of immediate supply of drinking water. This needs to
be monitored by the Central Government on war footing to
enforce Fundamental Right to access potable drinking water
which is part of ‘Right to Life’ under the Indian Constitution.
14. Let a further compliance report be filed by the Secretary,
Ministry of Jal Shakti before the next date.”
9. An affidavit dated 13.12.2019 has been filed by the Department of
Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti in pursuance
of the above order. However, during the hearing, the information is
sought to be updated in the form of following table of Arsenic affected
habitations and population as on 26.01.2020:-
State As on 25.03.2019 As on 25.06.2019 As on 09.12.2019 As on 26.01.2020
No. of Population No. of Population No. of Population No. of Populatio
Arseni Arsenic Arsenic Arsenic n
c Affected Affected Affected
Affecte Habitat Habitat Habitatio
d ions ions ns
Habita
tions
Assam 4,301 16,07,660 4,293 16,05,148 3,343 12,53,702 3,309 12,42,151
Bihar 807 12,05,934 804 12,01,715 336 5,15,474 335 5,14,396
Jharkhand 19 13,336 19 13,336 03 6,714 3 6,714
Karnataka 3 2,590 2 1,706 0 0 0 0
Punjab 652 8,28,073 660 8,36,625 646 8,22,381 644 8,20,192
Uttar 707 5,32,507 650 4,57,893 607 4,09,918 606 4,09,180
Pradesh
West 9,126 93,19,930 7,544 69,93,938 6,207 55,24,893 5,304 44,50,889
Bengal
Total 15,615 1,35,10,030 13,972 1,11,10,361 11,142 85,33,082 10,201 74,43,522
10. Learned Counsel for the Department states that the targeted date for
total remediation is 31.03.2021. The table quoted above shows that
there is hardly any improvement in the situation in the State of
Punjab. Progress with regard to State of Uttar Pradesh, Assam and
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Bihar is not adequate. The problem is acute in State of West Bengal.
Accountabilty needs to be fixed on erring officers and timelines for
total remedial needs to be pre-poned to 31.12.2020 in view of serious
health consequences. In the interim period, alternate arrangements
need to be made for the supply of safe potable water to inhabitants of
affected areas.
11. Let further steps be taken at the earliest and rigorously monitored by
the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal
Shakti. Status as on 31.03.2020 may be filed before this Tribunal by
List for further consideration on 15.05.2020.
Adarsh Kumar Goel, CP
S.P Wangdi, JM
Dr. Nagin Nanda, EM
Siddhanta Das, EM
January 28, 2020
Original Application No. 384/2019
AK
