The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure against the BJP state government and local administration, and termed as ‘insensitive’ the government’s response over the deaths of several people due to contaminated water of the Narmada river supplied by the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) through taps in households of the Bhagirathpura locality in the city.
Hearing the matter, the Indore bench of the High Court directed State Chief Secretary Anurag Jain to virtually attend the next hearing in the matter, scheduled on 15 January.
High Court Bar Association President, Ritesh Inani, who is also a petitioner in the case, informed media persons after the hearing that the court simultaneously heard three petitions in the matter.
Inani said that the court expressed grave concern on the issue, and noted that the incident has tarnished the image of Indore, which has been the cleanest city of the country for seven years in a row.
He said the court noted that it would examine whether the matter involved criminal liability or civil liability.
The High Court also took a critical view of the status report submitted by the state government in the matter, and directed the state and civic authorities to file replies and submit a fresh status report, emphasising that the right to clean drinking water forms part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The court categorised the issues into seven areas, including emergency relief, corrective measures, accountability, disciplinary action, compensation, directions to local bodies, and public awareness and transparency.
Inani further said that the court observed that it was the responsibility of the state to ensure safe drinking water and proper medical treatment to every citizen, and cautioned that recurrence of such incidents would not be tolerated.