Delhi Water Crisis: SC asks Upper Yamuna River Board to decide on supply of additional water

The court directed the officer who had drawn up the report on excess water available with Himachal to be present in the court on June 14.

The Supreme Court on June 12 disposed off Delhi government's plea over water crisis directing the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to decide on the government's request for supply of additional water at the earliest.

The UYRB has been directed to convene a meeting tomorrow to deliberate on Delhi's request for the supply of an additional 152 cusecs of water.

A vacation bench of Supreme Court comprising justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna Varale directed the Delhi government to write a letter to the UYRB by 5 PM this evening.

The court said "The court does not have the expertise to decide even on interim basis which would violate or tinker MoU between the parties. It’s appropriate that it be dealt by UYRB." Delhi has an MoU with Haryana , Uttar Pradesh and Himachal over water sharing.

The court also noted that while Himachal Pradesh offered to supply 137 cusecs of excess water available with it,  the statement turned out to be untrue. As a result of which the state's advocate general withdrew it. Thus, its order asking Himachal to supply 137 cusecs of excess water does not survive now.

The court also noted that historically it has not interfered in the issue of water sharing between the states as it does not have the expertise to deal with such complex matters.

On June 12, the court directed Delhi government to file an affidavit on the measures it had taken to prevent water wastage amidst acute water crisis during the ongoing heat wave.

A vacation bench of justices Prashan Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale questioned Delhi government on the measures it had taken to prevent the loss of water more specifically due to tanker mafia. The Delhi government's lawyer assured that all the tankers supplying water are operated by Delhi Jal board.

The court also noted that Himachal Pradesh had made a misleading statement that they had an excess of 137 cusecs of water to be supplied to Delhi while they may not actually have the same. The court directed the officer who had drawn up the report on excess water available with Himachal to be present in the court on June 14. However, these observations were  not recorded in the order for want of more clarity on Himachal's stand.

On June 6, directed Himachal Pradesh to release the 137 cusecs surplus water to Delhi to ease the water crisis in the national capital, describing it as an “existential problem”.

Delhi's water woes:

The Delhi government told the court that demand for water had risen significantly amid the heatwave conditions.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also urged the BJP to ask its governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to provide water to the national capital for a month.

Built on the Yamuna river, the Hathnikund barrage, which is around 200km from Delhi, is controlled by the Haryana government.

Water from the barrage is released in three directions. While the Eastern Yamuna Canal carries water to UP for irrigation, the Western Yamuna Canal takes water to different parts of Haryana for irrigation. Some of the water is also diverted to treatment plants in Delhi to meet the city’s drinking water demand. It takes two to three days for the water to reach Delhi.