The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Haryana and Delhi Chief Secretaries to appear before it on April 23 after the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it was not receiving enough water to supply to the Capital.
Water woes
A Bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur took a strong note of the apathy shown by authorities in dealing with the water woes of the residents of the Capital.
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“People are dying. But no urgency is being shown by you people,” the court said, directing senior officials of the two State governments to appear before it in person on April 23.
The Delhi government had informed the apex court that it was in talks with Haryana for release of 450 cusec of Yamuna water daily for the Capital.
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‘Supply reduced’
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The top court was hearing a plea filed by the DJB alleging that Haryana had reduced by one-third the supply of Yamuna water to the Capital, leading to a grave water crisis.
The DJB has contended in its plea that Haryana was supplying Delhi only 330 cusec of water daily against 450 cusec per day, which was agreed upon between the State and the Union Territory.
It has claimed that while the population of Delhi has increased phenomenally over the years, there has not been a commensurate rise in the water supply.
Wazirabad reservoir
The DJB said due to the present curtailment in water supply to the Wazirabad reservoir, the plant is running at reduced capacity leading to “grave water crisis” in the city. It added that the situation will “escalate” during peak summer.
The DJB has sought directions from the top court to the Haryana government to supply 450 cusec of water daily to the reservoir.