‘People are dying, but no urgency shown’: Supreme Court asks Haryana, Delhi to address water woes
The chief secretaries of both states were asked to appear before the court on a plea which claimed that enough water was not supplied to the national Capital.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the chief secretaries of Haryana and New Delhi to appear before it on April 23 after the Delhi Jal Board said it was not receiving enough water to supply to the national Capital, reported PTI.
A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said, “People are dying. But no urgency is being shown by you people.” It directed senior officials of the two state governments to appear before it in person.
The Delhi government had informed the top court that it was in talks with Haryana for the release of 450 cusecs of Yamuna water daily for the national capital.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by the Delhi Jal Board that contended that Haryana was supplying Delhi with only 330 cusecs of water daily as against 450 cusecs per day, which was agreed upon between the state and the Union Territory. It claimed that while the population of Delhi has increased over the years, there has not been a rise in the water supply.
The Delhi Jal Board said the capacity of the Wazirabad reservoir has reduced due to the drop in supply of Yamuna water, leading to a “grave water crisis” in the city. It said the situation would escalate with the onset of summer.
The Delhi Jal Board has asked the Supreme Court to direct the Haryana government to supply 450 cusecs of water per day to the Wazirabad reservoir. In March, the Delhi High Court had told the Haryana government that it must follow its 2014 direction specifying the amount of water to be released to the national Capital daily.