Court raps Jal Board for dirty water
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to find a solution to the water contamination problem in South Extension I. The board was also asked to replace corroded pipeline before the roads are carpeted. Harish Nair and Nivedita Khandekar report.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to find a solution to the water contamination problem in South Extension I. The board was also asked to replace corroded pipeline before the roads are carpeted.
A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi also directed the water utility and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to carry out quality-checks of works through independent agencies in the presence of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) representatives.
The New Delhi South Extension I RWA had drawn attention of the high court to the persistent water contamination issue. The civic body and the water utility were playing the blame game. This resulted in the court ordering a two-day joint survey.
The court lambasted the Jal Board for not replacing the old pipelines, which were as old as the colony, which settled in 1952. The bench also directed the DJB to solve the water contamination issue and asked the board and the SDMC to replace pipelines before roads were laid and the next hearing in December.
"When the officials came for a survey in September, they did not pick samples from the houses which had contaminated supply. We stopped the survey, which led to a ruckus and prompted us to call the police," said Manjit Singh Chugh, joint secretary of the NDSE I RWA.
The residents then met the DJB CEO, who agreed to rope in RITES for the survey work.