‘Unfit for human consumption’: Centre’s 2024 survey flagged unsafe drinking water in rural Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL/INDORE: A recent Union govt assessment under the Jal Jeevan Mission had found that 36.7% of drinking water samples from rural Madhya Pradesh were not potable, highlighting risks in village water supply systems amid outrage at the deaths of 10 people in Indore linked to contaminated drinking water supplied by the urban administration.

A state Pollution Control Board report of 2016-17, meanwhile, had flagged sewage contamination at Bhagirathpura, and at 58 other Indore locations, years ago. Expersts said the report indicated faecal contamination.




The deaths reported from Bhagirathpura after residents consumed contaminated drinking water revived uncomfortable questions about warnings that were formally documented years ago but failed to translate into sustained corrective action. The Union govt's Functionality Assessment of Household Tap Connections 2024 covered 15,094 rural households between Sept and Oct 2024 and was released last month.

MP pollution board probe found toxic water across Indore

Water samples were collected from two households per source/scheme... and tested for three types of parameters: E Coli, total coliform in NABL-accredited labs, and on-site testing for pH, the Union govt assessment under Jal Jeevan Mission stated. In Indore district, only 33% of surveyed rural households received potable water, which officials described as below acceptable levels.

District-wise findings showed a wide variation. Alirajpur, Barwani, Jhabua, Narsinghpur and Sidhi reported 100% availability of potable water among surveyed households, while Anuppur, Dindori, Panna, Rewa and Umaria recorded zero potable samples. Other districts reported low levels of potable water, including Gwalior (20.9%), Ashoknagar (21.9%), Morena (25.2%), Damoh (33.5%), Khandwa (35.2%), Ujjain (35.3%) and Shivpuri (36.4%). Bhopal (56.9%) and Jabalpur (54.3%) were close to the halfway mark.

The survey also flagged operational gaps. About 23.4% of households reported not receiving regular tap water supply, while 36.7% did not have functional taps at the time of the survey. Only 3.7% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with water quality, but nearly 22% said the quantity supplied was inadequate, indicating that safety issues may be under-reported or not easily detected by consumers.

Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board's ground-level investigation in 2016-17 found groundwater contamination across Indore, including Bhagirathpura. The study covered 60 locations across city where samples were drawn from borewells, hand pumps and other groundwater sources used by residents. Lab analysis found total coliform levels exceeding 10 MPN per 100ml in nearly all samples.

Scientists associated with the testing, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such levels clearly indicated faecal contamination caused by sewage ingress into groundwater sources. "At this level, the water is unfit for human consumption," one retired scientist said. Both total coliform and faecal coliform tests were conducted as part of the assessment.

The state PCB formally communicated the findings to IMC, recommending that the affected water sources be declared unsafe for drinking. Among the measures suggested were the installation of display boards and warning stickers at contaminated hand pumps and borewells, along with steps to prevent sewage mixing with water lines. Officials said the report made it clear that groundwater in large parts of Indore could not be considered potable due to persistent sewage contamination, particularly in areas with old pipelines, inadequate drainage separation, and waterlogging.