Dwarka water crisis: HC directs Haryana to release water

The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the Haryana government to release 719 cubic feet per second of water to the Munak canal to end the water shortage problem of Dwarka area in the capital.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul asked the Haryana government to release the water to the Munak CLC - which is cement-lined - instead of the unlined (kachcha) canal, because of which water is being lost every day.

The court had earlier noted that over 80 MGD of water is being lost every day because of seepage as the water is being transported through a unline canal instead of the concrete Munak canal.

The court's direction came on a PIL asking for commissioning of the new Munak canal.

The PIL filed by housing societies in Dwarka sought direction to the Delhi Jal Board and the government to solve the water crisis faced by them.

The Munak canal-Haidarpur pipeline was expected to meet the needs of the area by supplying raw water for treatment which would then be supplied to the parched area.

The canal, constructed to stop loss of water through leakages in various existing canals, was built by Haryana with financial assistance of around Rs.400 crore from the Delhi government on the condition that the national capital will be supplied water from it.

Haryana has opposed any water-sharing, saying it has been generously providing water to its neighbour even though the demand in the state has gone up in recent years.

Construction work on the 102-km canal between Munak on the Haryana border and Haiderpur in Delhi has been almost completed.