Haryana not allowing clean water to flow into Yamuna, HC told

Channel supplying extra water to river to dilute pollutants blocked too: DJB

The Jal Board told the Delhi High Court that the water being received at Wazirabad was unusable for treatment as it had high levels of ammonia.

The Delhi government told the High Court here on Tuesday that Haryana was not allowing clean water to flow into the Yamuna, making the water meant for the national capital more polluted.

A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao issued a notice to the Haryana government to respond to the allegations made by the Delhi government and posted the case for hearing on February 5.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) told the High Court that the channel which supplies additional water to the Yamuna to dilute its pollution levels had been blocked by Haryana, and that the water being received at Wazirabad was unusable for treatment as it had high levels of ammonia.

DJB’s application said the water treated at Wazirabad is supplied to central Delhim where all major government offices, bungalows, and the Supreme Court and the High Court are located.

It has said that if Haryana cannot control the pollutants being discharged into the river, then it should increase the clean water being supplied into the Yamuna to dilute the pollution.

DJB has sought directions to Haryana to remove the bunds or obstructions put up by it on the DD-8 channel, which supplies clean water into the Yamuna to dilute its pollution levels.

It said obstructing the water channel attracts provisions under Section 431 of IPC, which lays down the punishment — a maximum jail term of five years — for making any road, bridge or river impassable or unnavigable. It also argued that blocking of the DD-8 channel violated the orders of the Supreme Court, to ensure the Wazirabad reservoir is always kept full of water.

The High Court was hearing a petition, filed by lawyer S.B. Tripathi, seeking sufficient water supply for the Capital. Affidavits were filed in the plea, which has claimed that population in Delhi was increasing daily but the raw water available to the city was same or even decreasing. The High Court had earlier asked the Haryana government to ensure that it releases the entire quantity of water required as per the undertaking given by it to the court.