NGT asks govt to ban RO-

purifiers that demineralises

water
NGT had earlier said the delay in
compliance with its order is causing
harm to public health and environment
and it be complied with expeditiously.
PTI

The National Green Tribunal Tuesday directed the Ministry

of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to issue by the year-
end a notification banning RO purifiers where total
dissolved solids (TDS) in water are below 500 milligrams
per litre.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh

Kumar Goel granted more time to MoEF after it informed
the tribunal that the exercise could not be completed due to
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Even after one year, further extension of time has been

sought by MoEF on the ground of lock-down. Let necessary
action be now completed positively by December 31,
2020,” the bench said.

The NGT had earlier said the delay in compliance with its
order is causing harm to public health and environment and
it be complied with expeditiously.

The Ministry had in January sought four months for

executing the NGT order.

The MoEF in its plea had said that for effective compliance
of the order four months are required -- two for wide
circulation of draft notification for inviting comments, and
two for incorporation of comments, finalisation of
notification and obtaining approval from Ministry of Law
and Justice.

The matter is listed for next hearing on January 25.

The NGT had on the last date of hearing slammed the

ministry for the delay in issuing the notification and warned
the officer concerned of stopping his salary.

The tribunal had earlier said its order was based on a report
of an expert committee, which also comprised a
representative of the MoEF, and is enforceable without
permission of any other authority with penal
consequences.

In a bid to regulate the use of RO purifiers, the NGT had

directed the government to prohibit them where TDS is
below 500 mg per litre and to sensitise the public about the
ill-effects of demineralised water.

The tribunal has also asked the government to make it

mandatory to recover more than 60% water wherever RO is
permitted across the country.

TDS is made up of inorganic salts as well as small amounts

of organic matter. As per a WHO study, TDS levels below
300 mg per litre are considered to be excellent, while 900
mg per litre is said to be poor and above 1200 mg is
unacceptable.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water treatment process that

removes contaminants from water by using pressure to
force molecules through a semipermeable membrane.

The order had come after perusing an expert committee

report which said that if TDS is less than 500 milligrams per
litre, a RO system will not be useful but will result in
removing important minerals as well as cause undue
wastage of water.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by NGO Friends

seeking conservation of potable water by preventing its
wastage on account of unnecessary use of RO systems.