Reports of India

India as the Hub of Mines, Minerals, and Industries

India’s vast and varied geography makes it one of the richest repositories of minerals on the planet. From the coal fields of Jharkhand and the iron ore belts of Odisha to the bauxite-rich plateaus of Chhattisgarh and limestone quarries of Gujarat, the country’s subsoil fuels its industries. Yet this abundance bears a cost: industrial prosperity often runs parallel with ecological degradation and public health risks.

Marginalisation and Geographical Stretch

Mining zones are often located in remote and ecologically fragile regions inhabited by tribal and agrarian communities. The benefits of industrial extraction rarely reach these populations, who face land loss, displacement, and exposure to polluted air and water. Contaminants released from industrial hubs—through rivers, streams, and groundwater—spread across districts, turning local extraction into a nationwide web of pollution.

Affordability and Market Access

While industries profit from national and global markets, the cost of clean technologies and environmental safeguards remains prohibitive for smaller producers. Communities living near polluted zones often lack access to affordable filters, testing kits, or awareness programs. Affordability, therefore, is not only an economic question but a moral one—who can afford clean water, and who cannot?

Role of CPCB and BIS

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) act as the nation’s regulatory backbone for water and environmental safety. CPCB monitors river quality and industrial effluents, while BIS defines permissible limits of heavy metals in drinking water. Despite these frameworks, enforcement remains inconsistent. Gaps in real-time monitoring, limited field capacity, and opaque reporting mechanisms dilute the intent of these institutions.

National Gaps and Governance Issues

Environmental governance in India is fragmented across multiple agencies. Coordination between ministries, pollution boards, and local authorities often breaks down, leaving contaminated sites unaddressed for decades. Reports may exist, but data rarely integrates into a central, publicly accessible system. Without unified monitoring, contamination becomes invisible—until crises erupt.

Suggested Solutions

• Establish a National Contamination Registry integrating CPCB, CGWB, BIS, and academic data.
• Deploy low-cost biosensors and biobased filters at community scales.
• Strengthen EIA compliance and post-audit transparency.
• Promote community-led monitoring and citizen science through schools and NGOs.
• Enforce corporate environmental accountability with clear ESG scoring systems.

Explored Contaminations

In the course of our human practices and background studies, we performed a national literature survey to identify locations and sources of metal contamination. Over 300 contamination points and zones were compiled from peer-reviewed papers, CPCB records, and institutional databases, each indicating varying levels of severity and health risk. This evolving dataset lays the foundation for understanding the patterns of metal pollution across India.

Source(CSV) Suppl. data (1)

First Paper Reference

A review by Botle et al. (2022)⤴︎ served as our study primer, which compiled the status of contamination in surface waters of Indian rivers by heavy metals, incorporating pollution indices and health risk assessments.
Further proceedings were guided by a range of research works, including Bhatti et al. (2016)⤴︎, Matta et al. (2018)⤴︎, Nayak and Nandimandalam (2023)⤴︎, Karak et al. (2024)⤴︎, and Veerasamy et al. (2020)⤴︎, each highlighting various regional and industrial dimensions of heavy metal pollution in India.

Explored Locations from Various Literature

From the high industrial corridors of Gujarat and Maharashtra to the artisanal mining zones of Jharkhand and Meghalaya, contamination is not confined by geography. Literature indicates the simultaneous presence of metals like Cr, As, Hg, Pb, and Cd in surface waters, sediments, and groundwater across agricultural and urban landscapes alike.

India at a Glance

India is a land of extremes—glacial mountains, dense forests, fertile floodplains, and dry plateaus. Its 1.4 billion citizens draw livelihoods from industries, agriculture, and natural ecosystems alike. As the country accelerates its economic growth, the burden on water, soil, and air increases. Industrial effluents, mining residues, and urban runoff now shape the environmental health of many regions, often beyond the visible scale.

Industrial Evolution and Its Burdens

India’s industrial revolution was marked by the rise of coal, steel, and chemical sectors—symbols of self-reliance and progress. Over decades, however, poor waste management, unlined disposal pits, and informal recycling have turned prosperity into pollution. Fly ash ponds leak heavy metals, electroplating industries discharge chromium, and e-waste recyclers release lead and cadmium dust into soil and groundwater.

Everyday Life and Hidden Contamination

Cultural and domestic activities, too, contribute to the invisible contamination cycle. During festivals, paints, dyes, and synthetic materials find their way into rivers. Crackers, plastic idols, and unregulated immersions release fine particulate metals. Rural households depending on shallow wells and borewells rarely test for metal content, assuming clarity equals safety—when in reality, toxicity is colourless, tasteless, and cumulative.

Governance Gaps

India’s environmental frameworks are robust in theory but weak in practice. Reports from CPCB, NGT, and local boards highlight non-compliance in effluent management and periodic water testing. Regulatory overlap, limited staff, and insufficient funding hinder systematic enforcement. As a result, contaminated sites persist without remediation, while affected communities remain uninformed.

• Regular and open-access monitoring of rivers, lakes, and aquifers.
• Adoption of zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD) for high-pollution industries.
• Integration of local data into national dashboards for policy visibility.
• Education drives on water quality awareness and metal toxicity.
• Strengthening environmental litigation and community participation.

Case Studies Across India

Four landmark sites represent the diversity of contamination challenges across India:

Ropar (Punjab) — Fly Ash Leaching

Thermal power plants and unlined ash ponds have contributed to arsenic, chromium, and lead infiltration into aquifers, affecting both agriculture and drinking water.

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) — Toxic Legacy

Beyond the 1984 gas tragedy, persistent soil and groundwater contamination near the Union Carbide site continues to endanger nearby communities.

Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu) — Mercury Waste

Mercury waste from a thermometer factory, dumped in fragile forest ecosystems, left a toxic legacy that still affects the soil and livelihoods of surrounding communities.

Sukinda (Odisha) — Chromium Mining

Sukinda’s chromite mines discharge hexavalent chromium into rivers, causing long-term health impacts in tribal and agricultural communities.

Implications for Human Practices

For POSEIDON, India’s contamination crisis redefines what human practices mean. Science cannot remain in isolation—it must engage with governance, affordability, and ethics. Our work draws inspiration from India’s challenges to develop:

• Affordable and adaptable biofilters that respond to local metal profiles.
• Communication strategies that reach diverse linguistic and cultural audiences.
• Collaborations with schools and NGOs to promote awareness and testing.
• Policy engagement for stricter enforcement of waste management and discharge norms.

Looking Ahead

The future of India’s environmental health depends on the choices made today. Industrial growth and cultural practices must evolve toward circular, sustainable systems. Data transparency, affordable technology, and citizen awareness will together form the foundation of prevention. Our national survey—with over 300 documented contamination points—will soon be visualized through a geo-mapped dashboard, bridging research with real-world action. POSEIDON stands committed to linking science with society, ensuring clean water is not a privilege but a right.