New Delhi: Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said that the water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board is not up to the standard of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that an investigation by the BIS showed that samples collected randomly from 11 areas in Delhi do not comply with the BIS standard and are not safe for drinking.
"We want our water supply to match the global standard, but this is not happening," he added.
This is not a matter of Central government. It relates to the Delhi Jal Board. The Chairman Kejriwal may have objections to it, but this is not an issue of allegations and counter-allegations. We just want to assert that the poor people in the national capital must get clean drinking water."
Paswan held a meeting of senior officials of the Delhi Jal Board, Municipal Corporations (NDMC), BIS, Union Jal Shakti and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to discuss the BIS report on Delhi water.
On a query related to clean drinking water in Delhi, Paswan said, "Delhi Jal Board officials tested 100 samples of water and claimed that it is safe. Then we asked for at least 25 tested samples for investigation by BIS."
Now, when the BIS investigated the samples, a lot of deficiencies were found in the samples collected by the Jal Board, at least in the samples taken from 11 areas, Paswan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to make clean drinking water available to every citizen by the year 2024 under the scheme 'har ghar jal'. It is under this scheme that the government is testing the quality of water in all the states including 100 smart cities, Paswan added.
"We want a mandatory supply of potable water. If this does not happen, we will take action against the agencies which are responsible for supplying clean and safe drinking water to the citizens," the minister said, adding that "it was not a question of consumers rights, it a question of consumers life".
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