Water bottling plants found violating quality assurance rules in AP, say officials

Vijayawada: Amid a huge demand for potable water to quench thirst in the hot summer, the water purification and bottled water supply units are mushrooming in AP without observing the rules for ensuring water quality. Rule violations were detected in a recent state-wide raid on such units, officials said.

Those setting up such plants are expected to obtain a licence from statutory agencies like the legal metrology, food safety and standards authority of India, Bureau of Indian Standards etc. A majority of these units are supplying water without any licence. There is no mechanism to test the water quality at the delivery point.

 They supply water in 20 litre capacity cans for ₹ 25, door-to-door, and consumers can refill their cans by paying ₹ 10 or ₹ 15.

The legal metrology department (LMD) recently carried out a state-wide raid on such water plants and booked 108 cases citing rule violations. Of these, 73 cases were booked for not getting the packing licence from LMD while 35 cases were booked for not declaring the mandatory information on the water cans/bottles.

Legal metrology joint controller B. Ram said, “Consumers should check whether a plant has obtained the licence or not and followed the norms to ensure the quality of water.”

The food safety authorities are supposed to inspect the water plants frequently but a lack of adequate staff is cited as a reason for not doing this. There are also allegations of bribe-taking to avoid raids.

State Bureau of Indian Standards director Vinod said, “We are issuing BIS certification to the water plants that comply with norms after a through verification. It is mandatory for all water plants to obtain BIS certification.”