NHRC asks 27 states to file report on flurosis

January 31, 2015 10:27 am | Updated April 07, 2016 06:05 am IST - NEW DELHI:

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to 27 States, calling for a detailed report on the steps being taken by them to address the problem of excessive fluoride in drinking water. These States have been given six weeks time to respond.

Taking congnisance of a report ' >Huge population at fluorosis risk ' published on December 29 in The Hindu , the Commission has issued the direction to the Chief Secretaries of 27 States where fluoride content is above the permissible levels in drinking water.

As per a statement issued by the NHRC: “The Commission’s directions followed a presentation by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation before it on the January 20 on the problem of fluorosis in various States and short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions for mitigating the problem of contamination in drinking water.”

The Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has informed the NHRC that there are more than 1000 habitations affected by fluorosis in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and more than 100 habitations affected in Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

“The Commission had taken suo motu cognizance of a media report alleging fluoride above permissible levels in drinking water in 14132 habitations in 19 States and had asked the Secretary, Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to make a presentation on the gravity of the problem and the steps taken by the Central and various State Governments to combat it,” the NHRC statement read.

The Hindu had earlier reported that the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry fears that a huge population is at risk of serious health conditions such as skeletal fluorosis on account of drinking water contaminated by excessive levels of fluoride.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.