Water crisis in capital: SC summons Delhi, Haryana chief secys on Monday

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

Piqued at wrangling between bureaucrats of Delhi and Haryana over supply of water to the national capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday summoned their chief secretaries to appear before it on Monday.

"People are dying. But no urgency is being shown by you people," said a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur who took a strong note of the apathy shown by authorities in dealing with the water crisis in the national capital this summer.

It directed the two senior bureaucrats to appear before it in person on April 23 after Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it was not receiving enough water to supply to Delhi residents.

The Delhi government has been in talks with Haryana for the release of 450 cusecs of water of the Yamuna daily for the national capital.

Last month, DJB had moved the top court seeking a direction to Haryana to release 450 cusec of water per day meant for the Wazirabad reservoir in Delhi. Haryana was supplying 120 cusecs less water, the DJB alleged.

In its petition, DJB had accused Haryana of reducing by one-thirds the supply of water the Wazirabad reservoir, leading to a serious water crisis in the national capital. The Haryana government was violating the 1996 top court order regarding supply of water, it alleged.

Haryana was supplying only 330 cusecs of water per day to Delhi as against 450 cusecs per day agreed upon between the two sides. While Delhi's population has increased phenomenally over the years, there has not been a commensurate rise in water supply, DJB had submitted.

Due to drop in water level in the Yamuna, water treatment plants either stopped functioning or were running on below capacity, DJB said accusing Haryana of releasing polluted water which could not be treated. As a result, DJB was rationing water supply, causing water shortage in large parts of Delhi, it submitted.

The DJB said the situation was likely to get worse with the onset of summer and rising demand for drinking water.

Delhi is in the midst of an acute water crisis owing to stopping of supply of water by Haryana in the Yamuna, which is meant for drinking purposes in Delhi. It is most respectfully submitted that Haryana is defying the directions of this court to supply drinking water at Wazirabad reservoir and is taking undue advantage of being an upper riparian state, read the DJB plea.

It has converted the river leading to Delhi into a dry river having virtually no water at Delhi and resultantly stoppage of supply meant for drinking water for treatment at Wazirabad reservoir. 

As otherwise, the coming summer in Delhi is going to see a huge water crisis, it had said, demanding a daily monitoring of water quantity and the quality at the barrage by an independent agency.

Delhi and Haryana had on Monday accused each other in the Supreme Court over minutes of a meeting on the issue.

The Bench had asked the Central government counsel to seek instructions from the secretary of the ministry and get back. It had also asked the Delhi Government to make a formal request to Haryana for 150 cusecs of water.