Safe water not fundamental right, says panel

  • 07/12/2002

  • Tribune (New Delhi)

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), after claiming to have detected pesticide traces in 12 brands of soft drinks, now says that even the availability of "safe drinking water' may not be a certainty in the country. "Municipalities can supply water that is neither potable nor drinkable, but there's precious little a citizen can do,' Ms Sunita Narain, Director, CSE, said in a release here. "Under the law, no institution can be ultimately held responsible for quality, because nobody has defined standards that can be legally enforced,' Ms Narain said.