A high-level committee set up to look into all aspects of packaged drinking water — the adequacy of standards, effectiveness of testing and fixing responsibility — submitted its findings to Sharad Yadav, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution today. However, both the Committee members and the minister refused to divulge details.It seemed certain that the revision of standards for bottled drinking water is unlikely from April 1 as announced earlier. They gave indications that while they would like the Bureau of Indian Standards to go in for stringent standards, they also want fresh guidelines to be examined in detail.The report has also recommended that any revision in standards should be accompanied by ‘‘corresponding specific test methods’’. ‘‘I will study the report tonight. But no timeframe can be set for revision of standards,’’ said Yadav.‘‘A pro-active approach towards keeping the standards dynamic and at par with international developments in the related field is necessary,’’ said Additional Secretary, Consumer Affairs, Satwant Kaur Reddy, who headed the four-member inquiry committee.The report suggested that draft standards be put on the BIS site to obtain comments from all interested individuals and groups.
