In an effort to provide water to the severely deficient region, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday ordered the Himachal Pradesh government to release 137 cusecs of water to Delhi.
The decision was taken after Delhi government approached the center with a plea stating that the water situation in capital is almost a crisis like situation.
The division bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Vishwanathan heard the matter while instructing the hill state to open the water the next day, with a word to the Haryana board. The court also directed Haryana to work towards providing necessities of life, namely water to Delhi.
After taking the Haryana government’s assurance on compliance with the direction to release water for Delhi, the court said:
“The Haryana government should allow the water received from Himachal to flow to Wazirabad in Delhi that the people of Delhi get drinking water.”
The Supreme Court intervened due to the proceedings of a meeting held in the Upper Yamuna River Board, where all the members held that both Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are passing through scorching summer and the requirement of water needed.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj supported the court’s order, saying that despite the city’s exploding population, the quantity of water supplied to it has not increased since 1993.
“The BJP government of Haryana said we will not even give you a way for water…” BJP asked – ‘Shouldn’t the central government have taken the initiative to ensure that the Haryana government provide way for water… What the Supreme Court said today should have done long back?’ Bharadwaj said.
New Delhi, the national capital, has been a victim of acute water shortage. Now, the Delhi government has responded with restrictions, such as banning the use of drinking water for car washing and construction areas and also penalizing “Rs. 2,000 to anyone found guilty of wasting water.”
Due to this context, the Supreme Court’s mandate to both Himachal Pradesh and Haryana to follow the Union Public Service Commission-recommended guidelines to guarantee water supply to Delhi seems to be an essential step to contain the city’s water crisis during the ongoing summer heat wave.
