India reports around 11 lakh cancer cases every year and there is no evidence available to attribute it to rising levels of water pollution, Health and Family Welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad informed the Rajya Sabha Tuesday.
The available evidence was not enough to conclude that steep rise in water pollution was the main cause of cancer, he said in a written answer.
He said a budgetary provision of Rs.11,000 crore was made for the National Rural Drinking Water Programme in 2013-14.
Up to 67 percent of the NRDWP (National Rural Drinking Water Programme) funds allocated to states could be utilised for tackling water quality problems in rural areas, he added.
Supply of water in rural areas is a state subject.
