Provide enough, clean drinking water to inmates: HC to Taloja jail authorities

The inmates of Taloja jail complained of not having enough water and only having 1.5 bucket water per day. The bench questioned the jail authorities by asking them that how do you expect them to do everything in that one bucket of water

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday took cognizance of the complaints filed by the inmates of Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai as they were not being provided clean and sufficient water per day and directed the prison authorities to provide clean drinking water separately, apart from the water supplied to them for cleaning.

Inmates of Taloja jail had complained of not being given clean drinking water. (Bachchan Kumar)

The directions were issued after the court was informed that prisoners are given only 1.5 buckets of soiled and contaminated water every day for drinking, washing, and bathing.

The division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Gauri Godse after hearing the petition filed by former police officer Abhay Kurundkar, who is currently in Taloja jail in connection with Ashwini Bidre death case, said, “Clean drinking water is a priority. It is their (prisoner) basic right. It must be separated from other water which is used for washing etc.”

In his petition Kurundkar had sought a direction to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), to provide adequate water to Taloja Jail, as inmates are getting only 1.5 buckets of water.

However, the state and CIDCO claimed that the inmates were being given 10 buckets of water per day. Though there were two functional wells in the prison premise and additional 3 lakh litres of water were required for the inmates.

When the petitioner refuted the claims, the bench directed the secretary of the Raigad district legal services authority (DLSA) to verify.

On Thursday, DLSA secretary submitted a report which confirmed the claims of the petitioner that inmates receive only 1 to 1.5 buckets of water for all purposes every day. The report also stated that one of the wells was completely dry and the other well is 90% dry and the water in the storage tank and water used in the buckets by prisoners was unclean.

As part of his suggestions in the report the DLSA secretary said increasing storage tanks would ensure wastage and contamination of water can be avoided, and clean and sufficient water could be given to inmates.

“Report states that inmates are being provided 4,41,000 litres of water whereas requirement is much more, and that water is being used for everything. How do you expect them to do everything in that one bucket of water? There has to be cleanliness and hygiene maintained. There has to be a water metre to measure how much water is supplied. We want to see all this being done,” said the bench.

The bench asked the prison authority to inform them about the water metres being used and by when a sewage treatment plant for other purposes will be installed in the jail premises and posted hearing of the petition after two weeks.