Kathmandu, April 29

While the government’s market monitoring team has time and again cracked down on water bottling plants for supplying substandard and adulterated water in the market, the water bottlers rue lack of separate standards for processed and mineral water.

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) has filed lawsuits against six bottled water plants for selling substandard bottled water and one factory for selling adulterated water as of mid-March of current fiscal year, 2015-16.

DFTQC has initiated the action after its market monitoring team found the samples obtained from the bottling plants to be substandard and adulterated. The booked bottled water factories are based in Kathmandu and Lahan.

“Water that is not harmful to human health but does not have adequate elements like fluoride, iron and alkaline is classified as ‘substandard’,” explained Purna Awasti, spokesperson for DFTQC. “Water that has not been processed properly and can harm human health is classified as ‘adulterated’.”

However, Subash Bhandari, president of Nepal Bottled Water Industries Association (NBWIA), cited the need for separate benchmarks for mineral and processed water to measure their standard.

“The companies that have been found to be selling substandard water are actually selling processed water and it is obvious that their product would not meet those set for mineral water,” he argued.

According to Food Act 1967, owners of the firms found to be selling substandard water could be slapped a fine ranging between Rs 1,000 to Rs 5000, or a jail term of six months to one year or both. Moreover, the owners selling adulterated water could be fined Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, or imprisoned for one to two years, or both.

Bhandari also pointed out the need for government to set standards for processed water, which would help regulate the market better.

While admitting that there is no separate standard to gauge the quality of processed water, Awasti said, ‘the Ministry of Agricultural Development is in the process of formulating a new policy’ without divulging other details.

There are around 500 water bottling plants in the country, with half of them centred in Kathmandu Valley. Due to inadequate supply of drinking water by the state-run drinking water agency, the business of water bottling factories is booming. According to NBWIA, the market for bottled water is growing by 15 per cent annually.

“Our factories contribute 75 per cent of the total supply for drinking water in the Valley,” claimed Bhandari. While he said the association lacks the data of demand and supply of drinking water, he said the total daily demand for water in the Valley hovers around 340 million litres, while the supply is mere 90 million litres.