2870 water quality testing labs functioning across country: Jal Shakti minister

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, 2,870 water quality testing laboratories are functioning as of February 2026 across the country to ensure safe drinking water to every rural household, Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Responding to questions regarding analysis of potability of ground water, Patil said that the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and state governments conduct such analysis on a regular basis through their established laboratories for various quality parameters and contaminants like electrical conductivity (EC), fluoride, nitrate, heavy metals etc. He added that under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) being implemented by the Jal Shakti Ministry in partnership with states with an aim to provide safe drinking water to every rural household of the country, the Bureau of Indian Standards' BIS:10500 standards have been adopted as benchmark for the quality of water being supplied. ''Moreover, under JJM, as reported by states/UTs, as of February 2026, there are 2,870 water quality testing laboratories (which covers ground water sources as well) functioning across the country,'' Patil said. ''Also an online JJM-Water Quality Management Information System (JJM-WQMIS) portal has been developed for efficient monitoring and reporting of sample collection, testing and surveillance of drinking water,'' he added. Patil stated that additionally, in order to empower the communities to monitor the water quality, state/UTs have also been advised to identify and impart training to five persons, preferably women, in every village to conduct water quality testing using Field Testing Kits (FTKs). Thus far, around 24.80 lakh women have been trained across the country, out of which around eight lakh women are actively updating their reports on the WQMIS portal, the ministry highlighted. Emphasising the states' role, he outlined that the responsibility of taking initiatives to mitigate ground water contamination and to provide safe drinking water to citizens lies primarily with the state governments. ''However, to complement the efforts of the state governments, several steps have been taken by the Central government to address these issues,'' Patil said mentioning initiatives such as dissemination of the ground water quality data, quick action by the stakeholders and aquifer-mapping studies among others.