The
Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Himachal Pradesh government to release
137 cusecs of surplus water available with it for Delhi, which is grappling
with water crisis.
A
vacation bench of Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan noted that the
Himachal Pradesh government has no objection and is willing to release the
surplus water available with it.
The
bench directed the Haryana government to facilitate the flow of surplus water
released by Himachal Pradesh so that it reaches the national capital.
The
apex court made it clear that there should be no wastage of water by the Delhi
government.
It
said the 137 cusecs of surplus water be released by Himachal Pradesh on June 7 with
prior intimation to Haryana.
During
the hearing, the bench observed that there should be no politics on water and
posted the matter for further hearing on June 10.
The
apex court was hearing a plea 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 ongoing water crisis.
The
plea has made the Centre, the BJP-governed Haryana and the Congress-ruled
Himachal Pradesh parties to the petition, saying access to water is essential
for survival and is one of the basic human rights.
It has sought a direction to the Haryana government for immediate and
continuous release of water at the Wazirabad barrage, including but not limited
to the full surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh for the National Capital
Territory (NCT) of Delhi.