20 years without public water: Haryana human rights body orders free tankers for 500 Faridabad families

The Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has directed the supply of free government water tankers to nearly 500 families of Achievers Society, Kalindi Hill, Sector 49, on an interim basis after taking serious note of a complaint that the residents have been without regular public drinking water supply for more than 20 years.

Hearing the matter, Commission Chairperson Justice Lalit Batra observed that access to safe drinking water was not merely a civic amenity but essential for survival, health, sanitation and human dignity. The prolonged denial of such access, he said, raised serious human rights and constitutional concerns.

According to the complaint filed by resident Surendra Kaul, Achievers Society was developed under the TP-3 scheme in 2004-05. Residents initially relied on borewells within the society, supplemented by private tankers. However, the borewells have since dried up, forcing the families to depend entirely on privately purchased water for their daily needs.

The complainant alleged this was not a case of irregular supply but the complete absence of a public water network in the society for more than two decades. This, he said, had imposed a recurring financial burden on residents and also raised concerns over the quality of privately supplied water.

The Commission invoked Article 21 of the Constitution and referred to Supreme Court rulings in AP Pollution Control Board vs MV Nayudu and Narmada Bachao Andolan vs Union of India, which hold access to drinking water as integral to the right to life. It also cited the UN’s General Comment Number 15 on the right to water and UN General Assembly Resolution 64/292.

The order further examined the statutory duty of the Municipal Corporation under Section 267 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. The provision classifies “adequate and wholesome water supply” as an internal service that must be completed within five years of a scheme’s sanction. The Commission said this warranted examination of whether the civic body had discharged its statutory obligation.

The Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Faridabad, and the CEO, Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA), have been directed to submit reports at least a week before the next hearing.

The reports have been sought on whether a public water network was ever laid in the society, the status of existing borewells, the adequacy and quality of the current water supply, action taken on representations made by residents and the steps proposed, with a timeline, for providing a permanent solution.

Until then, the Commission has ordered uninterrupted and free supply of water through government tankers to the society as a stop-gap measure.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 12.