Thiruvananthapuram: The price of bottled drinking water is set to drop by seven rupees with the Kerala government deciding to cap the price at Rs 13 per litre.
At present, the retail price of one litre water bottle is Rs 20.
P Thilothaman, the minister for food and civil supplies, said bottled water has been included in the Essential Commodities Act. “A government order will be published in the gazette soon. Once the order comes into effect, only Bureau of Indian Standards-certified water bottles will be allowed to be sold,” he said.
Many companies had demanded the price cap to be fixed at Rs 15 citing high manufacturing costs. With the government unrelenting, the companies had threatened to move to court, seeking legal recourse. They eventually dropped the plan following discussions with the minister.
Stringent quality standards
Illegal companies bottling water would be forced to shut shop as the order sets stringent quality standards.
Water that do not maintain the prescribed norms would not be allowed to be sold.
In all 220 government-approved water refining plants are functioning in the state. Apart from this, 200 illegal companies are also operating.
As per the norms, 12 licences are needed to start a water bottling plant. But after getting licence for soda manufacturing from the Food Safety Department, bottled water of low-quality is reportedly being made and sold.
