Hyderabad: Thousands of so-called ‘mineral water plants’ are being run in the state without much supervision. The intelligence department has reported to the government that the composite Warangal district had 1,500 such water units, of which 1,484 were being run illegally. This has caused a huge loss to the state exchequer, it said.
The report said supervisory officials were accepting bribes to ignore the illegal plants. It said the units were thriving because of the increasing demand for clean water. According to the norms, a water unit needs a minimum space of 1,000 square feet and a borewell. The owner should take permission from the local urban body or gram panchayat and get it registered with the district industries centre.
The owner should obtain a labour department certificate and the ISI certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards. The unit should engage a well-trained microbiologist, and the staff to maintain hygienic condition and qualitative production. The intelligence report said no unit had a chemical lab and microbiologist to test the water purity in Warangal district. Only 16 of the 1,500 water units in the composite district had clearance certificate from the food safety authority and only one plant had the BIS certification.
Another 15 plants had obtained certificates from a body called International Herbal Water Foundation (IHWF), Chennai, which is not recognised by the government. The owners were printing the IHWF hallmark that they secured by paying Rs 50,000 per year on the bottles.
The report said due to lack of supervision by the food safety department and interference of political leaders, officials were unable to conduct raids on illegal units. The intelligence report suggested that the government bring these units under the Essential Commodities Act to regulate licencing, make BIS certification mandatory and empower the district food safety inspector to seize illegal units. Director of municipal administration T.K. Sreedevi said the government did not have a clear policy on mineral water plants, and would bring out one soon.
Former MLA K. Laxma Reddy, who encouraged the growth of these water units, said they were like cottage industries and did not need a licence. He set up about 300 units plants in Ranga Reddy district. He said that water unit owners were doing a a social service by supplying clean water. Introducing a licencing system would lead to corruption and an increase in the cost of water. He said food safety authorities could check quality of water supplied.
