New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) The reported ‘poor’ quality of Delhi’s drinking water featured in Parliament with two BJP MPs attacking Delhi’s AAP government over it, and Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan stating that the central government is not interested in doing politics over the issue but the AAP should go for quality testing of drinking water.
A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed as “false and politically motivated” a report claiming that Delhi’s water quality is poor, Paswan on Monday told the Lok Sabha, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked that the quality of potable water be tested throughout the country as part of the government’s target to bring drinking water to every home by 2024.
Paswan said the report on the drinking water quality, brought out by the Bureau of Indian Standards, was presented before the media on November 16.
He said that Delhi featured at the bottom of the list, with 11 out of 11 samples failing on 19 parameters.
“I want to say with challenge that no CM can claim that we have done politics on such a matter,” said Paswan.
He suggested that the Delhi government could do mandatory assessing of the quality of water from different areas of the national capital.
“We will welcome such a move, let the Delhi government give us the names of those officials who will be part of the panel,” he said.
“We are not doing politics over water, we want to seek the support of Parliament on the issue. There should be no politics over the safe quality of drinking water… We ask the Delhi government to give us the names of officials who will be part of the panel, and we can get it tested from the laboratory of their choice,” he said.
Earlier, BJP MPs Meenakshi Lekhi and Manoj Tiwari attacked the Delhi government over the quality of water.
Tiwari said there is a “health emergency in Delhi” and thanked Paswan for highlighting the matter.
“Delhi water quality is the worst. The water is poisonous,” he said and demanded action on the matter.
Lekhi also voiced concern over the report.
The BIS report presented on Saturday stated that Delhi along with Kolkata and Chennai failed in 10 out of 11 quality parameters on drinking water.
The testing of water samples was conducted to check organoleptic and physical parameters and know the chemical and toxic substances and bacteriological quality besides virological and biological parameters.
–IANS
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