The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to submit a report outlining its actions to tackle the problem of “water tanker mafias” accused of diverting water meant to ease the ongoing water shortage in Delhi.
Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale, presiding over the Vacation Bench, observed that despite Himachal Pradesh’s claim of sending water to Delhi, it failed to reach the designated channels within the city. The matter has been slated for Thursday for further proceedings.
The Bench raised concerns about the presence of water tanker mafias and cautioned that failing government action against these entities, it would involve the Delhi Police.
“Water is coming from Himachal Pradesh, then where is the water going in Delhi? There is so much spillage, tanker mafias etc.. What measures have you taken in this regard. In Delhi, tanker mafias work. Have you taken any action? If you are not taking action, then we will hand it over to Delhi police to take action against tanker mafias. We are seeing this in all channels. You are not doing anything in this regard. It is a recurring problem every summer. What have you done to prevent water wastage coming from all these sources? … Have you taken any action or FIR against any tanker mafias? Tanker mafias get water and pipelines are running dry,” Justice Mishra was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
Representing the AAP-led Delhi government, Senior Counsel Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi and advocate Shadan Farasat assured the court that all tankers belonged to the Delhi Jal Board and that necessary actions were being taken to prevent water diversion.
“There is action, including massive disconnection of water supplies etc. All that excess water wastage is stopped. We will file a report on all steps taken. All the tankers that you are seeing are Delhi Jal Board tankers,” Farasat submitted To which the court replied : You file a report on steps taken to prevent loss of water.
The Court proceeded to order the government of Delhi to file an affidavit to explain the steps taken to prevent the loss of water either today or by tomorrow before the matter is heard again.
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The Court was hearing the Delhi government’s plea, seeking directions to the state of Haryana to help deliver water to the national capital from Himachal Pradesh. Delhi needed the extra water to address the current heatwave as a temporary emergency measure.
Earlier, the top court had told the Central government to arrange a meeting of all involved parties to discuss Delhi’s needs. On June 6, the Court had urgently ordered Himachal Pradesh to release 137 cusecs of water. Notably, it had instructed Haryana to assist with this since the water passes through its canals before reaching Delhi.
At the last hearing on June 10, the Court mentioned that it wouldn’t be influenced by the extensive media coverage of the case.