Himachal Pradesh reversed course and informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it did not have enough water to spare in the midst of Delhi’s protracted water crisis. The Delhi government was instructed by the Supreme Court to contact the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) for water supplies.
The Aam Aadmi Party administration in Delhi was instructed by a vacation bench consisting of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale to submit an application to the UYRB by 5 p.m., demanding the delivery of water to the national capital on humanitarian grounds.
According to news agency, the Himachal Pradesh government retracted its earlier statement and informed the top court that it did not own the additional 136 cusecs of water.
The report also stated that the Supreme Court bench stated that the distribution of Yamuna water between states is a delicate and complicated matter, and this court lacks the technical know-how to make a decision on it, even temporarily.
The matter need to be left up for consideration by the committee established by the parties in the 1994 memorandum of understanding.
“Since the UYRB has already directed Delhi to submit an application for the supply of water on humanitarian grounds… such an application be made, if not already made, by today by 5 pm, and the board shall convene a meeting tomorrow and take decision in the matter at the earliest,” the bench said.
In order to alleviate the nation’s water crisis, the Delhi administration filed a suit with the Supreme Court asking for a directive to Haryana to deliver the excess water that Himachal Pradesh had given to the capital.
The AAP government was directed to submit an affidavit outlining its steps to reduce water loss after the Supreme Court questioned the Delhi government on Tuesday regarding tanker mafias and water waste in the nation’s capital.
Judges Prasanna B. Varale and Prashant Kumar Mishra expressed significant disapproval of the tanker mafias in the nation’s capital and inquired of the Delhi administration about their actions.
The bench further stated that it will instruct Delhi Police to take action against tanker mafias in the event that the Delhi government is unable to do so.
Manoj Tiwari, a BJP MP from North East Delhi, attacked Delhi Water Minister Atishi harshly and chastised her for blaming other states for the problem.
Tiwari questioned Atishi about why the government is unable to get water if tanker people are getting it.
“Atishi has the water department, she cannot cry that there is no water in Delhi because the tanker mafia is taking out water from Delhi and giving it to the people, they are not filling the tanker with water from Haryana,” news agency quoted Manoj Tiwari as saying.
He added further, “The tanker people get water but why is she (Atishi) not getting water?… During this time, Delhi is also being given more water from other states but the pipes have not been repaired even once in 9-10 years, there is leaking in the pipes, the gutter water is getting mixed in the pipes. How can you blame others for that?”
The head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that even after nine years of AAP-led administration, Atishi continues to give excuses.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports that Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 29.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday, which is a degree above the season’s normal. At 8.30am, the humidity was 37%.
The weather service has forecasted hot conditions with partly cloudy skies and strong, sometimes gusty, surface winds during the day. It is expected that the highest temperature will be approximately 45 degrees Celsius.
