The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the chief secretaries of Haryana and Delhi to appear before it on 23 April…
Representational image (Photo: Getty Images)
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the chief secretaries of Haryana and Delhi to appear before it on 23 April after the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it was not receiving enough water to supply to the national capital.
The Jal Board has sought directions from the apex court to the Haryana government to supply the full 450 cusecs of water per day continuously and daily to the Wazirabad reservoir.
The apex court took strong note of the apathy shown by authorities in dealing with the water woes of the residents of the national capital. “People are dying. But no urgency is being shown by you people.”
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A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur directed senior officials of the two state governments to appear before it in person on 23 April.
The Delhi government had informed the apex court it was in talks with Haryana for the release of 450 cusecs of water of the Yamuna river daily for the national capital.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the DJB alleging that Haryana had reduced by one-third the supply of Yamuna water to the national capital, leading to a grave water crisis.
The DJB has contended in its plea that Haryana was supplying Delhi only 330 cusecs of water daily as against 450 cusecs per day, which was agreed upon between the state and the Union Territory.
The DJB has said that 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 had said the situation would “escalate” with the onset of summer and as the demand for drinking water shoots up.
The Delhi High Court had recently told the Haryana government it has to stick to its 2014 direction specifying the amount of water to be released to Delhi every day.
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