Delhi to crack down on illegal plants bottling water
By IANSMonday, June 21, 2010
NEW DELHI - With illegal plants bottling water springing up in the capital, the Delhi government said Monday it would crack down on such units and also carry out checks on the quality of packaged water in authorised plants.
Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said a seven-member task force would carry out checks on bottling plants. She said a notification to this effect had been issued and the director of Prevention of Food Adulteration Department would be the chairman of the task force.
“The other members will be the drug controller, deputy secretary of home department B.M. Jain, deputy director of Bureau of Indian Standards P.S. Chadha, deputy medical health officer of Municipal Corporation of Delhi S.C. Arun, Deputy Commissioner of Police (headquarters) Mangesh Kashyap and member secretary of local health authority S.K. Nanda,” she added.
The task force will coordinate with government agencies like Prevention of Food Adulteration department, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), MCD and Delhi Police to take action against units manufacturing and selling packaged drinking water without license and BIS certification.
Legal action will also be taken against such units as also against those found selling impure water, Walia said. Violators can be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years, she said.
The first meeting of the task force will be held Wednesday and after an interval of one month.
A health department official said the task force will have full rights to check the quality of water being packaged at bottling plants and if violations are found they will have the right to seal the plants and get register a case against the defaulters.
Walia said that during a special drive launched in the last week of May, 56 samples of special packaged drinking water were lifted from various parts of the city.
