HC asks status report on repairs of old canal bringing water to Delhi

The Delhi High court Thursday asked the Haryana government about the status of the repair works on the old Delhi Sub Branch Canal (DSBC), that carries water to the national capital, besides the Munak canal.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao asked the state government to file a report before the next date of hearing on November 12.

The direction from the bench came after petitioner advocate S B Tripathi told the court that the repairs were getting delayed which in turn was affecting the water supply to Delhi, especially in the sub-city of Dwarka.

Haryana had on May 24 this year told the court that it has floated tenders for the repair works and that they would be opened in June and the work was expected to be completed in four months thereafter.

 

Prior to that, the court had on May 10 pulled up the Haryana government for not issuing any tender for repairing the old sub-branch canal, despite payment of Rs 28.16 crore to it by the Delhi Jal Board for the work.

The court was also displeased with the fact that Haryana had till then not encashed the cheques sent in March.

The high court on March 13 had directed Haryana and Delhi governments to take steps to immediately carry out repair works on DSBC, saying any delay in commencing the work would lead to wastage of water, would be really needed by the national capital.

The court was hearing a PIL moved by Tripathi who has said that the population in Delhi was increasing each day but the raw water available was the same or even decreasing.

Tripathi has also filed an application for concrete lining of DSBC, similar to the Munak canal, claiming that due to seepage in the older canal, 50 per cent of the 330 cusec water released into it by Haryana is lost. The plea has claimed that the wastage can be brought down to 5 per cent by concrete lining.

The bench had earlier asked the Haryana government to ensure it releases the entire quantity of water required as per the undertaking given to the court.

Haryana has to release 719 cusecs of water per day into Munak canal and 330 cusecs per day in DSBC, according to the undertaking and earlier court orders.