Recently The Supreme Court ordered to release of 137 cusecs of excess water from upstream Himachal Pradesh through Hathnikund barrage in Haryana into Wazirabad barrage to satisfy Delhi’s drinking water crisis. A Vacation Bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and K.V. Viswanathan after observing passed the order at the meeting which was held by the Upper Yamuna River Board with the States of Delhi, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh together with the Centre.
The meeting held a few days ago saw the Board acknowledge the severe shortage of drinking water in the national capital in the middle of a heatwave across the northern States. Himachal said that it could spare an additional supply of 137 cusecs to the capital. However, Haryana, through which the water has to pass to reach Delhi, raised objections. In court, Haryana insisted that to give Delhi Himachal Pradesh did not have any water to spare. The State also agreed that it was going through a water crisis. But Delhi is not asking Haryana to give water. From Himachal Pradesh, only the water has to come and not from Haryana.
Himachal Pradesh, embodied by Additional Advocate General Vaibhav Shrivastava, said the Government was eager and ready to support Delhi in its hour of terrible need. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Delhi, said Haryana’s objection was nothing short of cussedness and delay. He said the State was playing politics. Delhi needed 136 cusecs of water to help it through the present month of crisis.
The court directed that Haryana should be given a previous warning about the release of the water so that it could simplify its flow into Delhi. It also said that the Upper Yamuna River Board and Haryana could measure the water released from Himachal Pradesh to see if the quantity was 137 cusecs. The court made it clear that the Delhi government should make sure that there was no wastage of water through leaks or in other ways. According to a previous hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who had appeared for both the Centre and Haryana, had alleged that over 50% of the water reaching Delhi was diverted into the hands of the tanker mafia or got lost. The Delhi government had moved the Supreme Court, highlighting the severe water scarcity faced by the capital’s citizens since temperatures are high above the 50-degree Celsius mark.
