The Supreme Court on Wednesday warned the Delhi government to rein in the tanker mafia and wastage of water in the national capital.
A Vacation Bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and P.B. Varale said that either the Aam Aadmi Party government should take immediate action against the water tanker mafia, or the court would have to unleash the Union government-controlled Delhi Police on these elements.
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The court identified spillage and the tanker mafia as the two main reasons for the chronic water shortage during summer in Delhi, noting that it remains scarce despite the release of extra water from Himachal Pradesh.
In the previous hearing, the top court had ordered Himachal Pradesh to release 137 cusecs of surplus water to Delhi. The water was to travel through Haryana to enter into Delhi through the Wazirabad barrage.
Tanker mafia
“Water is coming from Himachal Pradesh, then where is the water going in Delhi? There is so much spillage and the tanker mafia… Have you [Delhi government] taken any action against tanker mafia or registered FIR? If you are not taking action, we will hand this over to Delhi Police to take action against the tanker mafia. We are seeing this in all channels. You are not doing anything in this regard. It is a recurring problem every summer,” Justice Mishra observed orally.
The court asked the Delhi government to submit a report on the action taken against water loss so far. “People are suffering, we are seeing visuals on every news channel. What measures have you taken to control water wastage?” Justice Mishra asked the Delhi government counsel.
The top court is hearing a petition filed by the Delhi Government seeking a direction to Haryana to release the surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to mitigate its water crisis.
The court listed the case for further hearing on Thursday.
