Crackdown on 213 water units

In the biggest nationwide action against errant bottled water manufacturers, the government has cancelled the licences of 213 units for either not adhering to the new norms on pesticide residues, which came into force on January 1, or for unsatisfactory performance.

Official sources here said the action was taken after a directive given at a high level meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Yadav.

"Norms have been notified and implemented. Nobody, who flouts the law, will be spared," Yadav said.

According to the latest official data, of the 1,018 licences issued, only 802 units deposited samples conform to the new norms. They were, therefore, allowed to continue manufacturing bottled water.

The "stop-marking order" has been imposed on 158 units due to non-submission of test report on pesticide residues as a result of which they will not be able to manufacture bottled water.

The stop-marking order has also been imposed on another 55 units due to their unsatisfactory performance.

In the case of 10 units, the report on pesticide residues had not been submitted but they are under "stop-marking" due to unsatisfactory performance.

Under the new standards, total pesticide residue in bottled water should not be more than 0.0005 mg/litre and for individual pesticides the limit is 0.0001 mg/litre.