Mitigation and remedy of groundwater arsenic menace in India: A vision document by NIH and CGWB (2010)

This document, an outcome of the joint efforts of NIH and CGWB gives a detailed outline emphasizing the gaps, focal areas of research, immediate measures to be taken up to provide arsenic safe potable water to the people in the arsenic vulnerable areas, other activities to be initiated for attaining a logical conclusion of the arsenic problem and also to develop a roadmap delineating as to how the suggested activities could be initiated, coordinated, undertaken, including framing out a budget estimate to fulfill those activities.

The document is designed to focus mainly on –

• up to date status of arsenic menace in India,
• state-of-the-art of scientific knowledgebase, understanding and technologies available from both national & international perspectives,
• technologies in place,
• preventive and corrective measures taken so far and results thereof,
• shortcomings, and possibility of employing success stories of one place to another region,
• further work to be undertaken,
• roadmap to achieve the targeted milestones,
• framework of activities to be taken up, etc.

For figuring these concerns and issues, a total of ten different chapters linking one to another are deliberated. Of which, first six chapters illustrate the knowledge base, understanding, status , technologies available followed by a critical appraisal, while the other four chapters elaborate on further work required for achieving sustainable solution for arsenic menace, roadmap to achieve those along with an envisaged 'Plan of Actions' and financial requirement to achieve those targeted tasks.

A framework of activities for a period of five years has been envisaged to resolve arsenic menace exposed in seven states in India. It is believed, earnestly, that likely results from these elaborated scientific tasks will help build the strategy to mitigate and remove groundwater arsenic menace in India.

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