Centre begins training States on piped water quality standard

Jal Shakti Ministry yet to respond on BIS draft quality control order

The Bureau of Indian Standards is preparing the ground for enforcement of piped water quality standards with a workshop for State officials. However, it is not yet clear whether the Centre’s own flagship mission to provide piped water to all households by 2024 will implement the BIS standard.

Providing safe drinking water to the common public is a primary requirement for ensuring health, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Monday.

He was speaking at a workshop organised by BIS to disseminate information about the requirements of IS 10500:2012, the quality standard. States were informed about the certification schemes and testing facilities required for compliance with it. Unlike the BIS standard for bottled water, which is mostly produced by private companies, the standard for piped water — largely supplied by government agencies — is not yet mandatory.

Mr. Paswan emphasised that the Central government and BIS were ready to take all steps and provide handholding support to the State governments and various agencies. However, interacting with journalists after his inaugural speech, he admitted that there has been no response as yet from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry with regards to a draft quality control order to make the piped water standard mandatory.

Senior Ministry officials and spokespersons failed to respond to The Hindu’s queries on the draft quality control order, and its adoption by the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Jal Shakti is the nodal Ministry for the Jal Jeevan Mission, to provide functional household tap connections to 14.6 crore rural households by 2024 at a provisional cost of ₹3.6 lakh crore.