Back and forth
February 4: Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) study on pesticide residues in bottled water released.
February 5: Reddy committee set up by Union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.
February 8: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) proposes EU norms for bottled water.
February 13: BIS's seminar reiterates present standards are good enough.
February 18: Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) issues draft notification on pesticide residues in bottled water for comments. Department of consumer affairs cracks down on erring manufacturers.
February 20: Union health minister Sushma Swaraj announces April 1, 2003, deadline for new norms, but refuses to take action against manufacturers on the pretext that they are meeting BIS specifications.
March 14: Almost 20 bottled water units across India lose BIS certification.
March 25: MoHFW invites industry and BIS for discussion, who claim that new standards would lead to shutting down of many bottled water units. Reddy committee recommends setting up of new committee to specify uniform method to test residues in drinking water. Clearly, a ploy to delay enforcement of new standards.
March 27: Swaraj says April 1 deadline cannot be met. No fresh target set.
April 1: Indian Bottled Water Manufacturers' Association claims compliance with proposed standards could jack up product prices by 30-40 per cent.
April 3: Union ministry of consumer affairs sets up three-member committee headed by BIS's director general Nirmal Singh.
April 7: Central committee on food standards decides to recommend EU norms to MoHFW. Ball is in Swaraj's court. She has to clear amendment and add it to Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, so that new standards can be implemented.
April 7: MoHFW officials say that new norms are under review and the ministry should notify them within a week.
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