Updated on Dec 29, at 5.10 p.m.

Chemicals like fluoride, arsenic, lead, iron, nitrate, etc, found to be hazardous to human health, have been found in Gujarat’s groundwater. This was revealed in the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) notice issued to the state government, for which they have sought a response.

Despite Gujarat government’s claims of providing drinking water to every house, people living in remote villages are still forced to use groundwater.

Groundwater in 27 districts of Gujarat has fluoride, 32 districts have nitrate, 12 have arsenic, one has lead, and uranium in the groundwater of five districts has been found.

Elements found in groundwater of Gujarat’s districts:

Factors like increasing population, industrialisation, and urbanisation are seen as the main causes of water contamination.

Apart from being polluted, the groundwater in the state’s Kutch, Sabarkantha, and Panchmahal districts is moving a metre downwards every year, as stated by the centre in the Lok Sabha. Drilling to great depths has to be done to access the water present underground.

According to a report presented in the Lok Sabha, consumption of 1,309 bn cubic metres of groundwater is done in Gujarat till 2022. However, a decline is seen in this consumption as compared to that of 2017.

This notice from the NGT, and its revelations, come after the centre spent ₹6,000 cr on the Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a scheme to manage groundwater.

Districts using maximum groundwater in Gujarat:

Banaskantha - Dantiwada, Dhanera, Deodar, Kankerage, Lakhni, Tharadi

Gandhinagar - Dehgam, Gandhinagar

Junagadh - Bhesan, Junagadh city, Manavdar

Kutch - Bhuj, Bhachau, Mandvi

Patan - Chanasma, Patan

Sabarkantha - Prantij

Vadodara - Padra

Updated on Dec 27, at 3.49 p.m.

In a recent finding, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices over the presence of arsenic and fluoride above the permissible limits detected in the groundwater of 24 states, including Gujarat, and four other union territories.

The NGT has issued notices seeking responses and solutions to this issue.

A report, prepared by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), was taken up suo moto by NGT justice Sudhir Agarwal and an expert member.

He noted that both these chemicals, arsenic and fluoride, can have serious implications for the human body, and they need to be stopped immediately.

While the CGWA has mentioned that it is responsible for monitoring and regulating groundwater, the government body adds that it cannot independently take any action in this matter, it is for the states to respond to this.

As per the news reports, the bench mentioned that this contention was rejected by a 1997 Supreme Court verdict as well as a 2022 tribunal order.

“We are surprised that after such a long time, even today, the CGWA (Central Ground Water Authority) has the audacity of shirking away from its own statutory responsibility and obligations and taking such flimsy grounds that have already been rejected by the apex court itself,” said Justice Agarwal as per the reports. 

In this matter, 24 states, including Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, the four UTs, the union ministry of environment, and the CGWA, have been made parties or respondents by the tribunal to the notice.

This matter will be heard again on Feb 15, 2024.

Effects of excessive arsenic, fluoride in groundwater

Research states that if the amount of fluoride in water exceeds a certain limit, it can affect a child’s intelligence quotient (IQ). Besides this, bones and kidneys, among other body parts, can also be affected.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, if the amount of arsenic found in water is high, it can cause skin diseases and diabetes and give rise to heart disease as well.

A limit has been affixed for the quantity of these two elements in water, which was reported to be exceeded in the CGWA report.

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