The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi government to approach the Yamuna River Board (UYRB) seeking additional water supply to the Delhi NCT. It also directed the Board to decide any such demand expeditiously.
A bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Misra and Prasanna P Varale said the issue was complex and sensitive and “should be considered by a body constituted by agreement of the parties in the Memorandum of Understanding dated 1994”.
He then said, “As the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) has already directed Delhi to submit an application for additional 150 cubic feet of water on humanitarian basis, if such an application has not already been made, it can be applied by 5 pm today, thereafter. The UYRB will convene a meeting tomorrow (Friday) and take a decision on the matter soon.” ,” the bench said.
The court heard the Delhi government’s plea highlighting the water crisis in NCD and seeking an order to Himachal Pradesh to release surplus water through Haryana.
On June 6, the court asked Himachal Pradesh, which said it had a surplus of 137 cubic feet of water, to release it to Delhi and Haryana to facilitate its flow. It also ordered to measure the surplus water discharged.
The Supreme Court hearing the matter on June 12 noted that Himachal Pradesh had said in a letter that the surplus water the state said it was ready to release to Delhi was “already flowing unhindered”. The court then wondered what was the point of the government’s earlier claim that this was measurable surplus water in the barrages.
The court sought the presence of the officer who gave details of excess water and warned of dire consequences.
In this situation, the Advocate General for Himachal Pradesh today tried to explain the state’s position, but the court did not agree, saying that if it was not urgent, it would have gone for contempt proceedings. However, it has allowed the state government to withdraw the report on excess water availability.
