Only 4 private Faridabad water bottling units have licence, 125 have none

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, September 1

A majority of the private water bottling and packaging plants in the city are functioning without the mandatory permissions, with only four plants in possession of the required licence from the authorities concerned, sources in the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said.

Only four units engaged in the work of the bottling of the packaged drinking water have acquired the formal permission in the form of consent to establish (CTE) and consent to operate (CTO) from the authorities. Around 125 units have been supplying bottled drinking water without any licence from departments such as the HSPCB, Municipal Corporation or the Ground Water Board of the state, as drawing of water through tubewells for commercial purpose requires the official sanction as per the laws framed by the state government.

The four plants that were mentioned in a list issued by the HSPCB in response to a query lodged by Narender Sirohi, a resident, with the department were located in Industrial Model Township, Ballabgarh, NIT and Anangpur village in the district.

Claiming that a large number of plants and businesses were supplying bottled water for domestic and commercial purpose in an unauthorised manner, Sirohi alleged that the authorities concerned had failed to keep a proper tab on the “racket”. Sirohi said it involved the extraction and sale of thousands of gallons of water in the city and neighbouring areas regularly. He added that while the illegal extraction of water had been causing a loss to groundwater, the quality of the water supplied was not checked as well.

It may be recalled that the Haryana Water Resources (Conservation, Regulation and Management) Authority (HWRA) had sought a status report regarding the illegal extraction of groundwater in the city and the measures taken to curb the supply of water from unauthorised tubewells in 2022.

The HWRA has also supplied a list of 112 units allegedly engaged in the illegal extraction and supply of mineral water in the form of campers, bottles or both to various places at that time.

The Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA) had started the registration of the water tankers through the QR code and geo-tagging in order to regulate the water supply from the authorised sources about two years ago. However, the department is yet to provide the details of the action taken against the illegal ones. With over 1,500 tankers engaged in the work, the city is getting a supply of 325 MLD against a demand of 450 MLD.

Sandeep Singh, Regional Officer, HSPCB, said action was taken as per the norms in case of a complaint getting lodged.

Failure of authorities to keep check

Claiming that a large number of plants and suppliers were supplying bottled water for domestic and commercial purpose in an unauthorised manner, a resident alleged that the authorities concerned had failed to keep a proper tab on the “racket”. This involved the extraction and sale of thousands of gallons of water in the city and neighbouring areas regularly.