Supreme Court Slams Delhi Government Over Water Crisis, Warns of Police Action Against Tanker Mafia

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi for not being able to stem the operation of the tanker mafia amid the water crisis in the national capital. Observing that false statements had been made before it, the apex court asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit listing the measures they had taken to prevent the wastage of water.

A vacation bench, comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale, told the Delhi government that if it can't deal with the tanker mafia, the court will ask the Delhi police to take action.

"Why were false statements made before this court? Water is coming from Himachal Pradesh then where is the water going in Delhi? There is so much spillage, tanker mafias etc.. What measures have you taken in this regard?" the bench asked.

The court said the people of Delhi were suffering due to the water crisis.

"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 bench added.

Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the Delhi government, said it had taken action, including disconnection of water supplies.

The court asked the Delhi government to submit a report on the action taken against water loss so far.

Last week, the court had asked the Himachal Pradesh government to release surplus water to help Delhi tide over the crisis. The Supreme Court warned the Delhi government that if it fails to take action against the tanker mafia, the court will hand over the matter to the Delhi Police.

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 .

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.