A concerning picture of Madhya Pradesh's rural water testing infrastructure has emerged, revealing that critical deficiencies identified in a 2019 survey persist into 2025, despite national efforts to expand monitoring. The weaknesses raise serious questions about the accuracy of water safety data reported from the state's villages.
2019 Survey Exposed Systemic Failings
Back in 2019, a comprehensive survey was conducted across 56 rural laboratories in 16 districts of Madhya Pradesh. The findings were alarming. The investigation found that nearly three-quarters of these facilities failed to meet even the basic prescribed space norms. More than 82 percent had no separate area designated for crucial biological testing.
The digital disconnect was severe, with most labs lacking internet and telephone connections, isolating staff from timely communication. The equipment shortage was stark: 50% of labs could not test for the 13 basic parameters of water quality. A staggering nine out of ten laboratories had no capacity whatsoever to check for dangerous heavy metals.
Human Resource and Protocol Crisis
The staffing crisis mirrored the infrastructural gaps. The survey found microbiologists were absent in nearly 79 percent of labs. The shortage of support staff was even more acute, with attendants missing in 86 percent of facilities and sampling assistants absent in 91 percent.
Established protocols were routinely ignored. Sampling procedures were often not followed, registers meant to log contaminated samples were left outdated, and claims of retesting were frequently unsupported by any documentation. Crucially, none of the 56 labs surveyed could meet the modest annual target of conducting 3,000 tests.
2025 Data Suggests Underreporting of Risks
Fast forward to 2025, and despite the expansion of India's national water quality monitoring network under the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission, many of these fundamental weaknesses continue. Government data for 2025-26 reveals a puzzling statistic: rural Madhya Pradesh reported detecting contamination in just 311 water samples, or 0.6% of tests. This figure is far below the national average of 13%.
Experts suggest these numbers do not indicate cleaner water, but rather highlight severely limited and potentially flawed testing. The extremely low detection rate raises significant concerns that the state's water monitoring system may be underreporting public health risks.
When contacted for comment on the current situation, one of the authors of the 2019 report, MANIT professor Varsha Rokade, offered a brief, guarded response: "It's all there in the study." This reticence reflects a cautious stance among some experts, who appear hesitant to elaborate on the ongoing challenges.
The persistence of these issues underscores a critical gap between policy goals and ground-level implementation. For the Jal Jeevan Mission to truly ensure "Har Ghar Jal" (water to every home), the foundational system of testing and verifying water safety must be robust, well-equipped, and transparent.
