Water alert

If you live in Delhi, there is a one-in-three chance that the packaged water you buy could be spurious

A news report earlier this month had some alarming data for consumers of packaged water in Delhi's National Capital Region. North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Yogender Chandolia told a news agency, "The number of unlicensed bottling units in Delhi is over 10,000. There's a shortage of drinking water in many parts. Operating illegal units is a lucrative business. We did a survey this year and over 2,000 people were caught running unlicensed water bottling plants in parts of North Delhi alone. But no action was taken against them. This has again given them the freedom to keep running their illegal business."

While the figures themselves are alarming, the core issue is not a revelation. The Delhi High Court had directed the government to crack down on units manufacturing and selling drinking water without a licence and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification as early as 2010. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Bottled Water Processors' Association. It was alleged that despite the central government's attention being drawn to illegal manufacturers, no action was taken to stop such activities. That was four years ago and if industry executives are to be believed, the number of these illegal bottling units has only climbed since.

The 10,000 illegal plants are producing an equal quantity of output to the 64 licensed plants if not more, according to Pankaj Agarwal, president of the Bottled Water Processors' Association. These illegal units have mushroomed all over town, hidden away in slums and suburban areas. thus escaping notice from both the authorities and the consumers. He identified areas such as Jamia Nagar, Batla House and Dwarka as hotspots for this activity. A conversation with the local panwari and juice shop owner at Bahadur Shah Zafar road revealed that an individual with unknown affiliations comes on a bicycle every morning to deliver the packaged water bottles. One kirana store that supplies 20-litre water jars to paying guest accommodations in Lajpat Nagar was doing so without any labelling whatsoever. And this is only where this writer lives and works; presumably the rest of the city has similarly disturbing tales to tell.

A spokesperson for Coca-Cola India, whose brand Kinley is a major player in the packaged water industry, believes that there are various reasons behind this growing menace. "The industry is very fragmented; there are some 1,800 brands already in play." Water is treated as a commodity, and nobody thinks of it beyond something to quench the thirst, leading to rampant misuse. He says that licensed packaged water products are much more expensive, since they make sure the quality of water is up to the mark. But in a retail market where a 20-litre tub is available for Rs 40, "the economics just doesn't add up - which obviously means the manufacturers are scrimping."

Ramesh Chauhan of Bisleri asserts that the problem lies not within the law itself, but in its implementation. "The law states clearly that the BIS mark is compulsory for all packaged water, but it is not enforced properly. We don't have any policing system to check all the products we manufacture - they only check the plants they have already licensed." Aggarwal adds: "Every registered bottling unit has to set up a lab for testing the presence of chemicals and microbes, reports of which have to be submitted to BIS periodically. But these tests are not conducted by the unlicensed plants. Most of them operate even without any proper water purification equipment."

The net sales of Bisleri, the largest player in the industry, in Delhi and the National Capital Region stand at around 240 million bottles per year, which gives it control over half the market. But when you factor in the bottles coming in from the unlicensed plants, the numbers tell an entirely different story. According to Chauhan, this issue is larger than the consumers realise. "One in every three bottles comes from an unlicensed plant!" It is not difficult to manufacture 1,000 bottles per plant per day - one can even do it out of one's own kitchen (not to give you ideas, there). The 20-litre jars constitute the majority of the problem, as they are easily available - the label is already placed and they are meant to be reused.

Local health officials need to be cognizant of the danger to people's health, yet repeated calls to BIS, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and New Delhi Municipal Corporation resulted in responsibility being palmed off to the state authorities. The news report mentioned above also said that cockroaches and house flies were found in water supplied to the headquarters of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and a media organisation in Noida recently. Rahul Kumar, deputy director central regional office at BIS, says that they are only responsible for approving the quality of the source material. They do conduct regular search and seizure raids on the feedback they receive, but only if plants are using their trademark without actually having obtained it.

Agarwal says that till the government can provide a definitive solution by raiding these illegal bottling units, the people of Delhi will be in grave danger of consuming spurious water. Sharma claims the liability also lies with the consumer. "Next time you buy packaged water of any kind, look out for the usual signs and ask tough questions: check the seal, manufacturing date, ISI mark, batch code, MRP, et cetera," says he. "And if you find anything amiss, question your supplier."