Indian government to set up centre for drinking water quality in Kolkata

The Indian government has approved a proposal to establish the Rs1.76bn ($28.7m) International Centre for Drinking Water Quality in Kolkata in West Bengal.

To be built on an 8.72 acre plot of land, the centre will have a particular focus on on arsenic and fluoride levels in water, among other contaminants.

The centre will also provide policy advice to Central and State Governments as well as to other countries on water quality issues.

It will focus on drinking water quality in habitations in urban and rural areas across the country due to the even spread of bacteriological contamination.

As of 1 April, more than 100,000 habitations, a population of 50.5 million, were reported in the country with no access to safe drinking water.

The overall cost of the project will be funded by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the centrally sponsored National Rural Drinking Water Programme.