Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Context
- India faces a severe groundwater contamination crisis, with rising levels of uranium, fluoride, nitrate and arsenic affecting public health, agriculture and economic productivity.
- The Annual Groundwater Quality Report 2024 shows contamination in nearly one-fifth of samples across 440+ districts.
Scale of the Problem
- In Punjab, one-third of samples contain uranium above permissible limits.
- Over 600 million people depend on groundwater for drinking and irrigation, amplifying risks.
- Environmental degradation, largely from polluted water and soil, costs India $80 billion annually (≈6% of GDP).
- Unsafe water results in billions in healthcare expenditure and millions of lost working days.
Human Capital Loss
- Contaminated water causes chronic illnesses, deformities and reduced productivity.
- In Mehsana (Gujarat), fluorosis has lowered earning capacity and pushed families into wage loss and medical debt.
- Diarrhoeal diseases still kill hundreds of thousands of under-five children each year.
- Exposure to arsenic and fluoride impairs cognitive development, reducing future educational and employment opportunities.
Agricultural and Export Impact
- Soil degradation affects one-third of India’s land; polluted irrigation accelerates decline.
- Heavy metals in groundwater reduce yields and infiltrate crops, shrinking farm income.
- Export risks rising as global buyers demand strict safety standards; contamination-related rejections threaten India’s $50-billion agricultural export sector.
Inequality Dimension
- Wealthier households afford filtration; poorer communities cannot.
- High out-of-pocket health spending worsens rural debt and illness cycles.
- Over-extraction (e.g., Punjab: 150% above sustainable limit) forces deeper drilling, worsening contamination.
Way Forward
- Establish real-time groundwater monitoring with public access.
- Strengthen enforcement against industrial effluents and untreated sewage.
- Reform agricultural policy: reduce chemical subsidies; promote crop diversification, organic practices and micro-irrigation.
- Deploy community water purification systems to provide immediate relief.
- Replicate successful models: fluorosis reduction in Nalgonda, diversification pilots in Punjab and Haryana.
- Enhance export quality checks and farmer training to protect market credibility.