‘RO makers must ban water purifiers where TDS below 500 mg/l’
NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to issue directions to all RO manufacturers banning water purifiers where the level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water is below 500 milligrams per litre.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also asked the CPCB to issue directions on management of RO rejects, including cartridges.
"To secure compliance of orders of this Tribunal read with order of the Supreme Court, we direct CPCB to issue an appropriate order under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 in terms of orders of this Tribunal to all the manufacturers so as to come into force within one month," said the bench also comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Dr Nagin Nanda.
The tribunal said gazette notification issued by the MoEF on 'Regulation on use of Water Purification System' cannot be said to be in compliance of its order.
"The Notification seeks to amend Rule 115 of Environment (Protection) Rule, 1986,
Schedule I to the effect that all users of Domestic Water Purification System and other DWPS shall comply with the guidelines issued by CPCB.
"There is no provision for regulating and prohibiting RO systems where TDS is less than 500 mg/l, as directed by this Tribunal. There is also no supply chain management of the RO reject. Similarly, water wastage issue remains unaddressed," the bench in its December 1 order said.
The NGT clarified that the
CPCB order will be independent and uninfluenced by the Notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
The green panel had earlier said that huge wastage of water in the use of RO purifiers merely for advancing the commercial interest of companies at the cost of public interest needs to be checked.
It had directed the MoEF to issue notification without delay banning RO purifiers where the TDS level in water is below 500 milligrams per litre.
"The MoEF may issue appropriate notification prohibiting use of RO where TDS in water is less than 500 mg/l and wherever RO is permitted, a requirement is laid down for recovery of water be more than 60 per cent. Further provision be laid down for recovery of water up to 75 per cent and use of such RO reject water for purposes such as utensil washing, flushing, gardening, cleaning of vehicles and floor mopping," the NGT had said.