The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Chief Secretary to coordinate with the authorities concerned to ensure supply of safe, regular and adequate drinking water with proper pressure to the residents of Sector 20 to 25 of Rohini Residential Scheme developed by the Delhi Development Authority. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Darmar Murugesan and Justice V.K. Jain issued the direction on a petition by Devender Solanki, a resident of one of the Sectors, submitting that the Delhi Jal Board was not supplying water to the residents which had forced them to procure water from private vendors or from DDA water tankers.
He urged the Court to pass a direction to the authorities concerned to arrange for adequate number of water tankers with pumping arrangement till complete infrastructure for regular water supply was in place.
He complained that the residents of these areas, besides paying water bill to DDA were also incurring expenditure of about Rs.1,000 per month per household on purchasing water from private sources, and the supply of water by DDA tankers was erratic, besides being inconvenient as water had be carried upstairs manually.
The Bench in its order said that the “the Chief Secretary, Delhi, shall hold a meeting with Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority and CEO of Delhi Jal Board and shall identify within four weeks the deficiencies, if any, in the water infrastructure provided by Delhi Development Authority.”
“Such deficiencies, if any, shall be removed by Delhi Development Authority within such time as Chief Secretary may stipulate in this regard. On removal of deficiencies, if any, the water facilities in these areas shall forthwith be taken over by Delhi Jal Board which shall ensure adequate supply of drinking water to the residents, treating it at par with other colonies where water supply is being provided by Delhi Jal Board,” the Bench stated.
