NEW DELHI: With a view to facilitate pure drinking water for all, the Centre will soon start a consultation process to make compliance of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), quality standard for tap water mandatory, starting with New Delhi.
Union consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said, the Delhi government and the Jal Parishad are open to the idea, and soon, the mandate will be expanded to cover all other state capitals and 100 smart cities in phases.
“A preliminary investigation of tap water samples collected randomly from 11 areas in the national capital had recently shown that it did not conform with BIS standard and was unsafe for drinking,” he added.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national body that frames quality norms for products and services and works under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, has set standards for drinking water, whose adoption is presently voluntary in nature.
“After perusing the preliminary report of tap water quality supplied in Delhi, we are thinking of making BIS standards mandatory, at least in the national capital, state capitals and 100 smart cities,” Paswan said.
He said the BIS had been directed to communicate with all States, including Delhi, and also with officials concerned from various ministries to create a consensus among them regarding making the standards mandatory.
“This is an important matter that touches the lives of all citizens, especially children, who are most vulnerable,” he said.
“We have received a second lab report. We will share in detail about the samples after we get the final lab report,” he said, adding that the samples include water collected from his house at 10, Janpath and the office premises at Krishi Bhawan.