Free Drinking Water Now Mandatory in Maharashtra Hotels, Restaurants

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a major statewide food safety drive, mandating that all hotels, restaurants, dhabas and other food establishments provide free safe drinking water to customers and prominently display notices informing patrons of the facility.

The directive, issued under the FDA's "Safe Food, Healthy Maharashtra" campaign, forms part of a wider crackdown on food safety violations across nearly 4.5 lakh food establishments in the state. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said access to safe food and drinking water is a fundamental right and warned that businesses endangering public health would face strict action.

The comprehensive order applies to hotels, restaurants, eateries, canteens, cafeterias, banquet halls, catering units, bakeries, food courts, cloud kitchens, chain restaurants, and online food delivery operators. Establishments cannot compel customers to purchase bottled water and must provide potable drinking water free of charge.

The FDA has also banned serving or packaging food in newspapers and other non food grade materials because of contamination risks from ink and chemicals. Food businesses must ensure regular medical examinations for employees, mandatory FoSTaC training, proper temperature control, and compliance with FSSAI norms. The order additionally requires calorie counts, allergen disclosures, and vegetarian or non vegetarian identification on menus of large food businesses and chain restaurants.

Recent inspections uncovered unhygienic kitchens, repeated reuse of cooking oil, improper storage practices, lack of medical fitness certificates among food handlers, and use of substandard packaging materials. The FDA has directed strict implementation of the RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) initiative and annual food safety audits for businesses with turnover exceeding Rs 50 crore.

Authorities warned that violations could attract penalties, licence suspension, business closure, and prosecution under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. In severe cases involving death due to unsafe food, offenders could face a minimum seven year prison term extending to life imprisonment and fines starting at Rs 10 lakh.