Govt looks at phasing out plastic bottles to promote safe drinking water

The government is planning to phase out use of harmful plastic to promote safe drinking water as part of another push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project, Swachh Bharat Mission.

Through a circular issued by the union ministry of drinking water and sanitation on 28 April, the centre has already directed ministries to avoid use of plastic bottles at official functions.

The aim is to eventually phase out the use of harmful plastics and promote safe drinking water.

The ministry of drinking water and sanitation has already stopped using bottled water at functions, and has requested all central ministries and establishments to follow suit.

Some states have also stopped using bottled water at meetings.

The Sikkim government recently banned bottled water and the use of plastics at official functions. Jammu & Kashmir also prohibits non-biodegradable plastics, while the Bihar government had taken similar measures in 2015.

The ministry has proposed events conducted by subordinate and attached offices / public sector units to avoid bottled water and make alternative arrangements.

Despite government efforts to restrict use of plastic bottles, the bottled water industry has been growing rapidly over the years, with hundreds of small and big players doing brisk business across the country.

According to Euromonitor International, the size of the still bottled water segment in India stood at Rs12,130 crore in value terms and about 5.6 billion litres in volume terms in 2015.

In fact, drinking water bottles have become part of everyday life for the city dweller, especially among the travelling public.