The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that the bottled water companies in the country were extracting seven billion litres of groundwater per month to sell it as mineral water for public consumption.
The apex court was hearing a suo motu case regarding the sale of bottled water and extraction of groundwater by bottled water companies.
Improve quality of products or face shutdown, CJP tells owners of companies The court asked owners of the companies to pay the price for groundwater they extracted for their products.
It was also told that sewage water was being used for cultivation of vegetables in different parts of the country.
According to the report, majority of beverage companies in the country discharge their waste water with total dissolved solids (TDS) less than 1,200 PPM.
Therefore, it said, this water should be used for agricultural purposes rather than its direct discharge into sewerage lines.
The report said that during inspections, the committee found that many bottled water and beverage plants had not installed flow meters on their extraction units.
The report recommended that all plants should obtain approval in context to their environmental management plan from relevant environmental protection agencies.
The report said all water bottling and beverages plants should install WWTP and septic tanks under intimation to the Supreme Court through undertakings.
The report also suggested that the companies should install salt recovery plants and WWTP as soon as possible, adding that all companies should submit a compliance report of the observations made during the inspection visits of their respective bottling facilities with action plan and time frame within 30 days.