Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on October 3, 2019, gave a clarion call for beginning a ‘Swachh Pani Abhiyaan’ or clean water mission in line with PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’.
Paswan asserted that it is not a matter of consumer rights but of people’s lives and therefore must be given priority. He stated that it is PM Narendra Modi’s vision to provide piped Drinking water to all households by 2024 and for furthering this vision and mission, he has started this Abhiyaan which has begun from Delhi and will be taken across the nation.
The Union Minister chaired a meeting with officials of Bureau of India Standards (BIS), Delhi Jal Board (DJB), officials from Ministry of Jal Shakti & Department of Consumer Affairs and FSSAI where it was discussed that the Standards for Drinking Water being set by BIS must be made mandatory.
BIS informed during the meeting that it had collected samples from 11 places from Delhi region and tested them on 42 parameters such as PH levels, Odour, Metal content, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and all samples failed to meet the BIS standard on multiple parameters. Paswan said it is the responsibility of DJB to provide clean drinking water to all residents of Delhi, according to a PIB release.
Paswan directed BIS officials to collect samples from State Capitals and compile the results by November, 2019 itself. The process of collecting samples from State Capitals including Delhi has already begun. BIS will be conducting a test of all the water samples for which teams have been deployed.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Paswan said that BIS has been asked to write letters to all States including Delhi and also to officials concerned of various Ministries to create a consensus among them regarding making the standards mandatory.