Mineral water scam in Kerala

According to a study conducted by the Assembly Committee on Environment, the water that is being sold in Kerala under the label of mineral water, contains no minerals.

The issue has irked the legislators so much that they spared time on the very last session of the current state assembly on Thursday to discuss this matter, at the end of which Health Minister V.C. Kabeer told the House that the state government proposed to impose a ban on inferior quality mineral water.

Kabeer said as many as 630 cases pertaining to the sale of inferior quality mineral water had been registered so far, hinting at the spread of the mineral water scam.

Anathalavattom Anandan, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Environment, said laboratory tests had shown that none of the samples sold under various brand names in the state conformed to the standards prescribed.

"They contained no minerals as required, and some contained harmful bacteria," Anandan said. He said the presence of coliform bacteria was found to be 20 per 100 millilitres in the Golden Valley brand, 16 per 100 ml in the Lazza brand, 12 per 100 ml in the Melam brand and one per 100 ml in the Green Valley brand.

These are among the best known brands in the market. Test reports on coliform counts of other brands are awaited.

Another irritant that the Assembly Committee zeroed in on was misleading brand names, such as Silent Valley. Committee member K.C. Venugopal said the brand name indicated that the water was from Silent Valley. Venugopal said the Assembly Committee wanted to ensure that if the brand name suggested a place, the water should be sourced from that place.

This, however, is likely to be a thorny issue since mineral water makers will argue that brand names need not necessarily have to adhere to such concepts, as in the case of Jaipur being a cigarette brand name and Java being the name of a software.

The committee has suggested a ban on the brands that are found not fit for drinking, and proposed that these brand names be displayed at railway stations, bus stands and tourist centres.