Cong seeks SC-level probe into Indore water crisis

The Congress has demanded an independent Supreme Court-level inquiry into the alleged deaths of 18 persons, including a six-month-old infant, after drinking contaminated water in Indore.

The party on Thursday said the deaths in Indore due to water contamination pointed to a complete breakdown of basic governance under the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh Government.

Calling the incident a preventable human tragedy rooted in long-standing administrative neglect, the party also demanded an immediate probe under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the incident stripped away official claims of efficiency and cleanliness.

Khera highlighted that Indore was repeatedly projected by the Centre as the country’s “cleanest city”. Yet, it witnessed sewage mixing with drinking water, leaving over 40,000 residents ill and several still battling for life in intensive care units, he said.

The Congress leader said ensuring safe drinking water was a non-negotiable duty of any government and accused the state administration of failing at this fundamental task. He alleged that even after the deaths, the response lacked urgency and sensitivity.

Referring to remarks by Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, Khera said senior members of the government chose to brush aside questions from journalists while bereaved families waited for help. He also described the announced compensation (Rs 2 lakh per deceased) as grossly inadequate and reflective of a disturbing disregard for human life.

The Congress asserted that the Indore deaths were the result of a systemic failure rather than an isolated lapse. Khera also pointed to the Asian Development Bank loans sanctioned in 2003 and 2008 for urban water supply and environmental improvement projects in Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur, and demanded escalation of the matter to the Asian Development Bank. These projects were meant to modernise water infrastructure, improve sewage management and ensure regular monitoring of water quality.

According to the Congress, successive BJP governments in MP failed to fulfil these commitments. Mandatory quarterly water quality testing was allegedly not carried out, monitoring reports were not prepared, and critical infrastructure works remained incomplete or poorly supervised. Khera said nearly Rs 100 crore released during the UPA government under then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh through ADB-backed projects was meant to safeguard public health but was squandered over the years.

Stressing that clean drinking water flows directly from the constitutional right to life, Khera said the deaths caused by sewage-contaminated water amounted to more than administrative negligence.

He also cited other recent incidents in the state, including deaths linked to contaminated medicines and unsafe hospital conditions, to argue that Madhya Pradesh had become a case study in institutional failure.