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Rajya Sabha
Out of 341 Nos. of blocks in 18 districts in the State of West Bengal, 79 blocks in 8 districts and 45 blocks in 9 districts are affected by the problem of arsenic and fluoride contamination in ground water respectively.
Rural drinking water is a State subject. Government of India extends financial and technical assistance to States for supply of safe drinking water in rural areas through a Centrally Sponsored Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP). Funds amounting to Rs. 63.95 crore have been released to West Bengal Government so far during the current year under ARWSP. 15% of ARWSP funds have been exclusively earmarked for Sub Mission project for tackling water quality problems. With effect from 01.04.1998, the power to sanction Sub Mission projects have been delegated to States. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), under the Ministry of Water Resources has also constructed 65 exploratory tubewells in four arsenic affected districts to delineate arsenic free aquifer zones. Successful wells have been handed over to State Government for use. Assistance of Rs. 12.02 lakhs for artificial recharge scheme and Rs. 21.00 lakhs in connection with R & D scheme has been provided by CGWB/Ministry of Water Resources. One mobile laboratory van with inbuilt equipment for instant analysis of arsenic rich ground water has also been made available to the State.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Water Resources, Shri Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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