HAVE TO REVIEW DECISION ON WATER SUPPLY: HARYANA TO SC

NEW DELHI : The Haryana government has told the Supreme Court that it would continue to supply 150 cusecs of extra water to Delhi till May 15 but will have to reconsider its decision after that since it was receiving only half the supply from the Hathni Kund barrage in Yamuna Nagar district.

The state made its submissions before a bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta, who were hearing the Delhi Jal Board’s application.

The DJB claims Haryana was supplying it less water than what was promised.

Haryana’s lawyer said Haryana was facing a “huge distress” as water supply to it had reduced drastically. “We are receiving only 50 per cent water from the Hathni barrage,” the counsel said.

The court was informed about the meeting that took place between the chief secretaries of Delhi and Haryana and the secretary of the Union ministry of water resources.

The discussions over water sharing took place on April 23 and the minutes were placed on record.

The court agreed to hear the matter again on May 11 after the Haryana government requested that it needed time to take a decision on continuing “extra supply” to Delhi

On April 23, the court had asked the top officials to immediately sort out the issues.

According to Delhi, Haryana was supplying Delhi only 330 cusecs of water daily as against 450 cusecs per day, which was agreed upon between the state and the Union Territory.

Due to the curtailment in water supply to the Wazirabad reservoir, the plant was running at a reduced capacity, leading to a “grave water crisis” in the city, the Delhi government said.

HARYANA’S LAWYER SAID WATER SUPPLY FROM THE HATHNI BARRAGE HAD DROPPED BY 50 PER CENT