Chennai:The
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has in a shocking revelation
informed the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal that more
than 800 packaged drinking water units in the state are illegal.
Among the companies that lack ‘consent to operate’ are 144 in Chennai and towns nearby. The board said it conducted quality checks at 967 units and found that 814 did not have consent to operate, prompting the bench to ask why TNPCB had not taken action against the illegal units.
Amajority of the units have licences from the Bureau of Indian Standards but not the mandatory consent to operate from TNPCB.
The board on Wednesday submitted a report to the tribunal stating that 16 units in the Chennai region, 73 in Ambattur, 30 in Sriperumbudur, and 25 in Tiruvallur operated without government consent. Tests by the board and the food safety and drug departments revealed that only 86 units provided safe drinking water. They declared water from 35 units as substandard (but not unsafe), eight as substandard and 15 as unsafe.
PCB joint chief environment engineer S Selvam, who was present during the hearing on Wednesday, reported that the board had issued showcause notices to all 814 units even before the tribunal took cognizance of the issue.
The bench said the notices appeared to serve no purpose and expressed shock over the illegal units. “The figure is alarming. Only 10% of the units in the state have consent to operate. You have not closed even a single unit. Who is responsible for this,” the bench asked. “The units have been flouting the rules for decades. What have you been doing?” it said. “The Water Act is completely flouted in the state. This is dereliction of duty.”
Abench of the tribunal consisting of Justice M Chockalingam and expert member R Nagendran had in March taken suo motu cognizance of pollution in packaged drinking water in Chennai and other cities in the state and directed TNPCB and the food safety department to conduct tests.
The bench took note of the contention that the units had submitted applications for consent to the board, but the board returned them due to an order issued by a division bench of the Madras high court in 2011, restraining the government from granting consent to extract groundwater for commercial purposes till the Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2003 is notified.
Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association counsel P S Raman said the state would first have to set up an authority on extraction of groundwater. He asked the bench for time so the association could file a review petition against the order in the high court. The bench posted the next hearing to October 7.
TIMES VIEW
The PCB’s finding should come as a wake-up call for the government. In a land of water scarcity, the packaged water business will, no doubt, lead to a mushrooming of such units. The PCB should not wait for the National Green Tribunal’s order to inspect these places—it should be a routine exercise. The health authorities should close illegal units and ensure that others stick to safety rules of the highest standards.
Among the companies that lack ‘consent to operate’ are 144 in Chennai and towns nearby. The board said it conducted quality checks at 967 units and found that 814 did not have consent to operate, prompting the bench to ask why TNPCB had not taken action against the illegal units.
Amajority of the units have licences from the Bureau of Indian Standards but not the mandatory consent to operate from TNPCB.
The board on Wednesday submitted a report to the tribunal stating that 16 units in the Chennai region, 73 in Ambattur, 30 in Sriperumbudur, and 25 in Tiruvallur operated without government consent. Tests by the board and the food safety and drug departments revealed that only 86 units provided safe drinking water. They declared water from 35 units as substandard (but not unsafe), eight as substandard and 15 as unsafe.
PCB joint chief environment engineer S Selvam, who was present during the hearing on Wednesday, reported that the board had issued showcause notices to all 814 units even before the tribunal took cognizance of the issue.
The bench said the notices appeared to serve no purpose and expressed shock over the illegal units. “The figure is alarming. Only 10% of the units in the state have consent to operate. You have not closed even a single unit. Who is responsible for this,” the bench asked. “The units have been flouting the rules for decades. What have you been doing?” it said. “The Water Act is completely flouted in the state. This is dereliction of duty.”
Abench of the tribunal consisting of Justice M Chockalingam and expert member R Nagendran had in March taken suo motu cognizance of pollution in packaged drinking water in Chennai and other cities in the state and directed TNPCB and the food safety department to conduct tests.
The bench took note of the contention that the units had submitted applications for consent to the board, but the board returned them due to an order issued by a division bench of the Madras high court in 2011, restraining the government from granting consent to extract groundwater for commercial purposes till the Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2003 is notified.
Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association counsel P S Raman said the state would first have to set up an authority on extraction of groundwater. He asked the bench for time so the association could file a review petition against the order in the high court. The bench posted the next hearing to October 7.
TIMES VIEW
The PCB’s finding should come as a wake-up call for the government. In a land of water scarcity, the packaged water business will, no doubt, lead to a mushrooming of such units. The PCB should not wait for the National Green Tribunal’s order to inspect these places—it should be a routine exercise. The health authorities should close illegal units and ensure that others stick to safety rules of the highest standards.
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