Haryana to court on Delhi water crisis: No excess water released by Himachal

Amid the ongoing water crisis in Delhi, the Haryana government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that no excess water was released by Himachal Pradesh to send it to Delhi.

The top court had earlier this month asked the Himachal Pradesh government to release 137 cusecs of excess water to Haryana with prior information so that the water could be released to Delhi accordingly.

HARYANA CLAIMS HIMACHAL PRADESH NOT RELEASING EXCESS WATER

The Haryana government alleged that their Himachal Pradesh counterparts claimed that they had released 137 cusecs of unused Yamuna water share to Tajewala (Hathnikund Barrage) on the river Yamuna, without giving any details about their actual usage of water in June. "Hence, the same be released to NCT Delhi in compliance of the aforesaid orders of the Honourable Supreme Court in the matter", an affidavit filed by the Haryana government said.

Pointing towards the 'anomaly' of the Himachal Pradesh government with regard to the directions of the court, the affidavit further stated "It was Himachal Pradesh's case that it was ready and willing to release the surplus drinking water available with it. It was never the case of the state of Himachal Pradesh before this Hon'ble Court that 137 Cusecs of unutilised Yamuna water was already flowing from the territory of Himachal Pradesh to Tajewala".

HARYANA GOVERNMENT SAYS HIMACHAL PRADESH NOT SHARING INFORMATION

The Haryana government said that it asked Himachal Pradesh and Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to provide information to enable them to get an idea of the amount of excess water coming to the Hathnikund Barrage (HKB) but maintained that no substantial and credible information had been received by the state in this regard.

"The state of Himachal does not have any surplus water because in the past they made a request to the Board for the allocation of additional water. Even the documents submitted by Himachal Pradesh earlier before the Board in relation to its schemes and water utilisation clearly show that the utilisation of water was more than the allocation made to it", the Haryana government claimed.

'DELHI WASTING WATER'

The Haryana government went on to claim, "The present scarcity of water in Delhi has been largely created by the city itself. It has failed to cut down on its distribution losses, control the tanker mafia politely put as pilferage and also regulate the per capita water requirements of its citizens, which is higher than the national average for urban areas".

Citing the Economic Survey of Delhi 2023-2024, the affidavit stated "The total distribution losses are at about 52.35 per cent. These are quite high, as compared to 10-20 per cent in developing countries. There are large water losses at different stages of the water supply system in the treatment plants, conveyance systems and distribution systems, apart from leaks and pilferage".

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 135 litres per capita per day (LPCD) has been suggested as the benchmark for urban water supply. For rural areas, a minimum service delivery of 55 litres per capita per day has been fixed under the Jal Jeevan Mission (which Haryana is supplying to its own rural areas as water conservation mechanism), which may be enhanced to higher levels by states. "It is an admitted fact that LPCD in Delhi for domestic use is 172", the affidavit said.

Haryana also told the Court that it was continuously supplying more water than its allocated share to Delhi and was further committed to continue its efforts to comply with the order of the court.

WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?

In Wednesday's hearing, the top court asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit about the steps taken by it to control the wastage of water as the national capital faces a water crisis.

A vacation bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and PB Yarale told counsel for the Delhi government "People are suffering, we are seeing visuals on every news channel. What measures have you taken to control water wastage if water scarcity is a recurring problem in summers?" The hearing in the case will continue on Thursday.

The court is hearing a plea filed by the Delhi government seeking a direction for Haryana to release the surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to mitigate the ongoing water crisis.