New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday will take up a plea by 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.
According to a cause list uploaded on the apex court website, a vacation bench comprising of justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan will hear the matter.
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, that 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.”
According to sources, the plea said that since Himachal Pradesh does share a physical boundary with Delhi, this water needs to be released to the national capital through Wazirabad barrage, which is located in Haryana. The plea stressed that Haryana government’s facilitation and cooperation, which is not being provided as on date, is imperative.
The plea said that the 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.
Amid the prevailing water crisis in the national capital, the Delhi government said it has been compelled to crackdown on wastage of water and illegal connections built at construction sites and commercial establishments by releasing a notification imposing a fine of Rs 2000 on anyone found wasting water and deploying 200 teams to disconnect illegal water connections.
The AAP government contended that due to increase in demand, which will continue till the end of June, the water levels of the Wazirabad barrage have been critically reduced, which has resulted in water shortage, putting the health and well-being of 25 million residents of the NCT of Delhi at grave risk.
The plea contended that Himachal Pradesh has agreed to share its surplus water with Delhi, as per a pre-existing MOU signed in 2019. The plea has made Haryana and Himachal Pradesh governments as respondents in the matter.
The plea contended that the Delhi government is left with no other option but to seek the intervention of the apex court to safeguard the fundamental rights of its citizens by seeking a direction to respondent No.1 (Haryana) and 2 (Himachal Pradesh), to supply its surplus water and, facilitate the passage of this water to the Wazirabad barrage.
On Thursday, the water minister Atishi said that the Delhi government will approach the Supreme Court over Haryana not releasing the national capital's share of water, which has led to a crisis situation. Addressing a press conference here, Atishi said Delhi is staring at an "emergency situation" and announced a slew of emergency measures to tackle the crisis.
"We will approach the Supreme Court on Thursday itself over Haryana not releasing the share of Delhi's water," she added.
The minister said a central water tanker control room is being set up in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and it will be monitored by an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. The water crisis in Delhi comes at a time when maximum temperature in the national capital is inching close to the 50 degrees Celsius mark. The minimum temperature is nearly 30 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees above normal.
