SC Asks Makers Of RO Water Purifiers To Approach Centre Within 10 Days Over NGT Ban

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the makers of RO (Reverse Osmosis) water purifiers to approach the Union Ministry of Environment , Forests and Climate Change within ten days with relevant materials on their grievance against the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal.

The bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman directed the Central Ministry to consider the materials of the RO purifiers' manufacturers before issuing any notification as per the NGT order.

The order was passed in a petition filed by Water Quality India Association (WQIA), who approached the Apex Court against NGT order banning use of RO in some parts of capital.

Their counsel Senior Advocate C U Singh submitted that thare are "abundant material" to show need for RO filters.

In May, the NGT in its order had directed the ministry of Environment to frame rules for manufacturing and sale of RO filters, and banned use of RO in areas where the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water water was below 500 mg per litre.

The Tribunal had also ordered that manufacturers should ensure that more than 60 per cent of water should be recovered.

Current systems discard about 80 per cent of the water which is being treated, leading to huge wastage, observed the NGT.

On November 4, the NGT had found its orders have not been implemented. The NGT has given the MoEF and CPCB the deadline till December 31 to frame the rules to regulate RO manufacturing.

The tribunal had passed the order after an expert committee set up by it had recommended a bar on use of RO technology, especially in municipal areas where piped water is supplied.

The committee had said that RO technology "is generally not required for the places having piped water supplies primarily supplied by Municipalities from surface water sources like rivers, lakes and ponds. These sources have TDS levels for low as compared to groundwater sources."

It had also recommended that the water purifier market could be classified based on the TDS level of the water being supplied/available in the area to ensure that safe water is being used in households, and water is not unnecessarily wasted.