State will push for water clean-up

Four months after the state announced it would formulate a plan to clean up Mumbai’s water supply, there has been no progress on the matter.

Four months after the state announced it would formulate a plan to clean up Mumbai’s water supply, there has been no progress on the matter.

HT Image

On Thursday, HT published a report of what tests on 10 water samples it collected from across the city found. Six of the samples — from Mahim, Chembur, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Bandra and Borivli — were unfit for drinking. The civic lab at Dadar, where the tests were done, found A.aerogenes and coliform bacteria in the samples, which cause intestinal, stomach and eye infections, as well as skin rashes.

On August 6, HT published the findings of the environmental status report, which said water contamination levels had doubled to 26.10% in 2009-10 from 13.80% the previous year.

Health minister Suresh Shetty, who then headed the environment department too, said on Friday that he would ensure the water clean-up plan was expedited. He said he could do little in the past four months because the Cabinet changed. “Now I don’t head the environment department. But, as health minister, I will follow it up.”

Environment minister Sanjay Deotale said from Nagpur that he would seek information from the officials concerned. “I will be back on Tuesday. I will seek Shetty’s guidance because he initiated the move. I took charge just a month ago,” said Deotale.