564 water units have no ISI certification, State tells court

The State government on Tuesday informed the Karnataka High Court that 564 mineral and packaged drinking water units in the State were functioning without the ISI certification and only 224 such units had ISI certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

This information was given to a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Aravind Kumar during the hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition complaining that a large number of such units are operating in the State without the mandatory ISI certification.

Government counsel R.G. Kolle told the Bench that the authorities had issued notice to 491 units and had closed down 27 units that had no ISI certification.

In Bangalore urban district, there are 69 units operating without ISI certification as against 96 with the certification.

Meanwhile, some of the manufacturers disputed the position of law on mandatory requirement of ISI certification from the BIS after enactment of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which became operative from 2011. Counsel for some manufacturers pointed out that there was insufficient number of laboratories of the BIS to test water.

After hearing the contentions, the Bench asked the State Commissioner of Food Safety to be present in the court on Friday while directing the government to file an affidavit on the steps proposed for testing water supplied by such units to ensure safety of drinking water.