The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to Delhi government Chief Secretary and Delhi Jal Board Chairman, calling for reports within four weeks, on reports that samples of water in many areas of the Capital were found not potable.
The Commission suo motu took up the case based on media reports on May 19 alleging that out of 53 samples of drinking water taken from various areas in Delhi by an NGO – “Hazard Centre”, only two were found potable. The levels of faecal contamination, fluoride and arsenic were above the permissible limit in many areas.
The Commission felt the reports were distressing and “if these are true then it is a serious issue of violation of human rights of the people of Delhi,” the Commission observed and ordered notices.
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According to a media report the water samples were taken from different water sources including DJB's piped supply in areas like Sonia Vihar, Najafgarh, Mehrauli, Okhla, Commonwealth Games Village and Chattarpur.
The tests were conducted at two places, the Jawaharlal Nehru University laboratory and People's Science Institute laboratory in Dehradun.