Delhi’s tanker mafia, water wastage to blame for scarcity every summer: SC
‘What measures have you [Delhi govt.] taken to control water wastage,’ asks apex court, says it will ‘unleash’ Delhi Police on tanker maa if AAP govt. does not act in time; High Court asks Haryana govt. to respond to plea seeking contempt action against it for not providing enough water to Capital
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government to rein in the tanker maffia and wastage of water in the national capital.
A Vacation Bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and P.B. Varale said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government must take immediate action against the water tanker maffia, or the court would have to “unleash” the Union governmentcontrolled Delhi Police on “these elements”.
The court identiffied spillage and the tanker maffia as the two main reasons for the chronic water shortage during summer in Delhi, noting that water remains in short supply despite the release of extra water from Himachal Pradesh.
During a previous hearing on June 6, the court had ordered Himachal Pradesh to release 137 cusecs of surplus water to Delhi. The water was to travel through Haryana into Delhi through the Wazirabad barrage.
‘Any FIR?’
“Water is coming from Himachal Pradesh, then where is the water going in Delhi? There is so much spillage and the tanker maffia… Have you [Delhi government] taken any action against tanker maffia or registered FIR? If you are not taking action, we will hand this over to Delhi Police to take action against the tanker maffia. We are seeing this on all channels. You are not doing anything in this regard. It is a recurring problem every summer,” Justice Mishra observed orally.
The court asked the Delhi government to submit a report on the action taken against the loss of water so far. “People are su¤ering, we are seeing visuals on every news channel. What measures have you taken to control water wastage?” Justice Mishra asked the Delhi government counsel.
The top court is hearing a petition ffiled by the Delhi government seeking direction to Haryana to release the surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital.
The court listed the case for further hearing on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) told the Supreme Court that Himachal Pradesh should prove it has been releasing 137 cusecs of unutilised water to Delhi. The UYRB is an interState body established to regulate the allocation and management of the water resources of the upper Yamuna basin.
‘Supply cut deliberately’
The High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi and Haryana governments to respond within three weeks to a plea seeking contempt action against Haryana oficials for not supplying adequate water to the national capital.
It listed the matter for further hearing on July 24.
A Vacation Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna was hearing a plea by advocate S.B. Tripathi alleging that Haryana has curbed water supply to Delhi, that too during the summer and that the reduced supply was “deliberate, intentional and with malaffide intentions”.
The plea said Haryana had ffiled an afidavit in the High Court in May 2023 stating that it was supplying nearly 1,040 cusecs to the national capital by diverting nearly 321 cusecs from the share of its own citizens and that the court had said that the “statement/undertaking given by the State of Haryana is accepted by this Court and the State of Haryana is bound by the same”.