SC fumes as Haryana, Delhi spar over minutes
NEWDELHI:The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its disillusionment with the Delhi and Haryana governments for sparring over the minutes of a meeting that took place in the presence of Union ministry of water resources last month to resolve the water sharing dispute between the two states.
The court wondered if such deliberations over crucial issues should be video-recorded. “You all are senior bureaucrats. Do you want to video-record the meetings in future?” a bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked the chief secretaries of the two states, who were present as per the court’s April 19 direction.
The bench asked both the bureaucrats to sit again with the secretary of Union ministry of water resources and sort out their differences. It ordered the secretary to convene the meeting on Monday and fixed April 27 to hear the Delhi Jal Board’s claim that Haryana was not releasing water as per the top court’s earlier order.
On the court’s order, the chief secretaries met on Monday but both sides refused to budge from their earlier standpoint. “Haryana said they would be supplying 450 cusecs of water till May 15, after which they would curtail 120 cusecs again. We told them that it would trigger a crisis as mid-May if the peak summer month. The matter now has to be dealt by the court,” said Dinesh Mohaniya, vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board, who was in the meeting.
The Union secretary for water resources had on March 28 convened a meeting between the two states after the DJB moved the court with its plea, and the court agreed to hear it. But the DJB disputed the minutes of the meeting circulated later, saying the document did not reflect its viewpoint. Haryana and the the central ministry of water resources affirmed the minutes.
Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash told the bench that Haryana had violated the court’s order by not releasing sufficient water.
He said the minutes did not mention the caveat that litigation between Delhi and Haryana will be withdrawn provided the water is released. The two states are litigating each other over water at various judicial forums.
Prakash said Delhi was at the mercy of its neighbour, by virtue of being an upper riparian state, and that it was not possible to make a request every time.
“It’s been made out that Delhi has to make a request. But what Delhi is asking for is not a favour but as per the Supreme Court order. Request would mean that they (Haryana) can stop supply anytime. We want continuous supply so that Delhi is not starved of water,” the chief secretary said.
The Haryana government contested Delhi’s claim. Its lawyers said the state was releasing more water than it was supposed to do. “In the garb of judicial order, Delhi wants the share of Haryana water. Why can’t they have a plan to save water and have a proper system for transmission,” the counsel said.