New Delhi, 1 June

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a Delhi government plea seeking a direction to Haryana to release surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to mitigate its ongoing water crisis.

According to the cause list of the apex court, a vacation bench of justices PK Mishra and KV Viswanathan is likely to hear the matter.

The plea filed by Delhi's Water Minister Atishi has made the Centre, the BJP-governed Haryana and the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh parties to the petition, saying that access to water is essential for survival and is one of the basic human rights. "Access to water is one of the basic human rights of an individual. Not only is water essential for sustenance, but access to water also forms an essential component of the guarantee of dignity and a quality of life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," the plea said.

"The current water crisis, which may only get worse given peak summers and ongoing water shortage, violates the right to a dignified and quality life of the people of the NCT of Delhi, who are unable to access even adequate clean drinking water," it added.

The plea 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 the Respondent No. 2 (Himachal Pradesh) for the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, in order to mitigate the water crisis in the NCT of Delhi.

The city government said it was constrained to file the plea on account of acute shortage of water being faced by the citizens due to the ongoing severe heat conditions in north India, particularly Delhi. "The record-high temperatures and heat wave in Delhi, which have resulted in maximum temperature rising up to around 50 degrees Celsius at some places, have caused an extraordinary and excessive surge in water demand in the city.

"As a result, the national capital is dealing with a water shortage which has led to frequent supply cuts in many parts of the NCT, and has disrupted the daily life of the ordinary residents, the plea said. The AAP government said it has taken all measures to ensure optimisation, rationing and targeted supply of water, yet the shortage remains acute and it is clear by all indicators that the NCT of Delhi is in dire need of additional water.

It said all treatment plants in the national capital are treating and supplying the water being sent. It is necessary to augment the water supply to address the present crisis, it added. The city government said it has sought the direction as a one-time measure and not filed the plea for resolving any outstanding inter-state water dispute.

"The Petitioner is praying for the said relief of release of surplus water only as a stop-gap arrangement to remedy the current crisis till such time the monsoon season arrives and the temperature of the city goes down... thereby reverting the situation to normal, " it said. "Without prejudice to the inter-federal rights of Delhi, especially as a lower riparian state to shared water resources, the plea is filed only because of the unprecedented surge in temperature, which has triggered a surge in the demand for water," it said.