Apex Court directs Haryana to release water to Delhi as per the agreed plan

Taking exception to the Haryana government's agitation to release water to Delhi as per the decided plan, the Supreme Court summoned the chief secretary to appear before it on April 23 and directed Haryana state to release water to the national capital immediately. The bench comprising of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta passed an order on a plea by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that accused Haryana of not following the court's 1996 order directing the state to release 450 cusecs of Yamuna drinking water to Delhi every day. DJB told the court that Delhi was facing an acute water crisis owing to shortage in supply by Haryana. “ Haryana is defying the Apex Court's guidelines to supply drinking water at Wazirabad reservoir and is taking undue advantage of being near the riverside. It has converted the Yamuna in Delhi into a dry river having virtually no water and consequently no water is available for treatment at Wazirabad,” DJB said. It contended that Haryana was only supplying 330 cusecs of water per day rather than 450 cusecs agreed upon. It informed that the situation would “ get worse” with the summers here as the demand for water would shoot up. The Delhi Jal Board requested the top court for “ daily monitoring of water quantity and quality at Wazirabad reservoir by an independent agency” . The Delhi government had earlier informed the court that it was in talks with Haryana to resolve the dispute, however, the 2 sides failed to come up with an understanding and the top court directed Haryana to restore water supply as per the already agreed plan.