'Citizens Should Not Suffer', SC for Stakeholders Meet on Delhi Demand for More Water Amid Heatwave

Supreme Court said denizens of Delhi should not suffer due to shortage in water supply. The problem should be addressed forthwith and directed the Centre to hold a meeting of stakeholders regarding the Delhi government's demand for supply of additional water from Himachal Pradesh through Haryana.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said citizens of Delhi should not suffer and problems regarding the water supply amid the heatwave should be addressed while ordering the Centre to hold a meeting of stakeholders regarding the Delhi government's demand for supply of additional water from Himachal Pradesh through Haryana.

A bench comprising justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan orally observed “Why cannot there be a joint meeting of all the stakeholders?" Senior advocate AM Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, urged the bench to direct the Haryana government to immediately release surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to Delhi through Wazirabad barrage. Singhvi stressed that this arrangement could be there at least for a month. The bench observed that there is some urgency in the matter that citizens of Delhi should not suffer and that problems regarding the water supply amid the heatwave should be addressed.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and Haryana government, said he is not keen to score any brownie points and insisted that there are certain issues which can only be taken care of by the Delhi government. Mehta said of 100 litres of water coming to Delhi, only 48 litres reach people and stressed that leakages should be plugged in and also there is a need to control the tanker mafia.

The bench said let there be a non-adversarial approach and let the stakeholder state governments meet to examine the water supply issue. Mehta submitted that the issue is already being considered by the Upper Yamuna River Board. Singhvi contended that there is a heatwave in Delhi and the water level at the Wazirabad barrage must be maintained. The Himachal Pradesh counsel submitted that the state was ready to provide water to Delhi through its canal network.

After hearing submissions, the bench said a meeting of the Upper Yamuna River Board should be held on June 5, so that the problem of water for citizens of Delhi can be properly addressed. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on June 6.

The apex court was hearing a plea by the Delhi government seeking a direction to Haryana to release surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to mitigate its ongoing water crisis.

The Delhi government’s plea contended that the unprecedented surge in temperature has triggered extraordinary and excessive demand for water, which is not being met by supply from neighbouring states, which has precipitated a full-fledged water and sanitation crisis. The petition, filed by water minister Atishi, submitted that the filing of “this petition has been necessitated by an acute heat wave and an issuance of a red alert in the NCT, with temperatures soaring to a record-breaking high of 52.9 degrees Celsius.”

The plea said that access to water is one of the basic human rights of an individual and it also forms an essential component of the guarantee of dignity and a quality of life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. “The current water crisis, which may only get worse given peak summers and ongoing water shortage, violates the right to a dignified and quality life of the people of the NCT of Delhi, who are unable to access even adequate clean drinking water,” said the plea.