Delhi Water Crisis : Supreme Court Directs Haryana Govt To Facilitate Flow Of Water Released By Himachal…

In a major relief to the residents of Delhi, the Supreme Court on Thursday (June 6) directed the Haryana Government to facilitate the uninterrupted flow of surplus water released by the Himachal Pradesh Government for Delhi to resolve the water crisis being faced by residents of Delhi.

Yash Mittal06/06/2024

“Considering the urgency, we direct Himachal Pradesh to release the water tomorrow with prior intimation to Haryana and the Upper Yamuna River Road shall measure the water for onward supply. Status report be submitted on Monday, list on Monday. “ The bench consisting of justices PK Mishra and KV Viswanathan stated.

The court ordered to the Himachal Pradesh Government to transfer 137 cusecs of water upstream, so that the water flows to its destination at Hathnikund barrage, which is located in Haryana and Haryana could facilitate the flow of the water towards Delhi via the Wazirabad barrage located in Delhi.

Simply put in a nutshell, the Court was examining an petition that was filed by the Delhi government to direct Haryana’s State of Haryana for immediate release of water to the flooded capital city of the nation. The petition stated that the capital city is suffering from an acute water shortage due to the extreme heatwave that is affecting north India.

The day before the hearing, following recording the joint statement by the parties The Court requested to the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to convene an urgent meeting of all states that are stakeholder on June 5, and to send the minutes of the meeting as well as the steps suggested on June 6, i.e. the day of today.

In the petition the petitioner states that Delhi as the Lower riparian Union Territory, is seeking an additional supply of water by means of the current plea due to the unforeseen situation that was created by the dry and hot summer of this year. The petition claims that Delhi has requested that the Delhi government has asked to the State of Haryana to release the water, however the latter hasn’t agreed to it until now. Therefore, the petitioners seek directions to ensure to ensure that State of Haryana is willing to cooperate and release water to Delhi as well as the extra/surplus water that was agreed that will be released from Himachal Pradesh.

The court heard the case today at the start. the court questioned the counsel for Haryana to explain that if the water originates from Himachal the question is why Haryana not want to making the water available to Delhi.

“it is about a right of way (of water). Himachal is giving 150 cusecs you (Haryana) let it pass through. We will tell the Chief Secretary if needed. “,the court says.

The Senior Advocate, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvirepresenting the Delhi Government suggested that the water of Beas (river) could be sent via the Haryana canals to Delhi. But Haryana’s counsel opposed this idea, calling it as unworkable.

Adv. Shadan Farasat who is also representing the Delhi Government described Haryana’s position as obstructionist for not allowing the water to be through Himachal towards Delhi.

As a response to a court’s inquiry about the release of additional water, the counsel for Harayana claimed that there is no way to quantify and separate the surplus water in order to estimate the amount of water is to release to Delhi.

Adv. Farasat explained the process by which the flow of water into Delhi would occur. He explained that the release of water will be triggered by Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana which is downstream from each of the States in addition to Delhi will be able to receive the water downstream through Wazirabad (situated within Delhi).

After registering the submissions made by parties in the record, the Court noted that the stakeholders who attended the meeting on June 5 didn’t dispute that there’s a severe heat-related situation in Delhi. But, Haryana is also facing similar issues, but there’s no water shortage that is acute in Haryana.

“Since Himachal has no objection, we direct that it shall transfer 137 cusecs from upstream so water reaches Hathnikund barrage and reaches Delhi through Wazirabad. As and when the surplus water is released by the State of Himachal Pradesh with prior intimation, the State of Haryana shall facilitate the flow of water from Hathnikund to Wazirabad so it reaches Delhi without obstruction so the residents get drinking water. “ the court stated.

The court also warned about the waste of water in the period that Delhi is experiencing an acute shortage of water.

“We are conscious of the fact that due to the acute water shortage, there should be no wastage of water by the Delhi government for which it should adopt the measures suggested by the Board. ” The court ruled.

The issue will be discussed the following the 10th of June (June 10,) with a directive for Himachal Pradesh to release the water by tomorrow, with a prior notification for Haryana and UYRB to take measurements of the water to ensure delivery to Delhi. The status report will be presented on Monday.

Case Title: GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI Versus STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS., Diary No. 25504-2024