HC asks Centre, AAP govt to treat as representation PIL for safe drinking water in Delhi

The Delhi High Court asked the Centre and the AAP government on Tuesday to treat as representation a PIL seeking clean and safe drinking water for citizens of the national capital.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar declined to issue any directions on the petition by a trust, which had claimed that water quality in Delhi was found to be unsafe according to a study carried out by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The court asked the Centre and the Delhi government to treat the plea by Anti Corruption Council of India as a representation and to take a decision in accordance with law, rules, regulation and policy being followed in such matters.

With the direction, the bench disposed of the petition which had claimed that water samples tested from Delhi were found to contain e.coli bacteria along with "excess of metals such as aluminium, manganese, magnesium, ammonia and iron".

The petition had said that according to news reports based on the study, BIS had tested water samples of several state capitals and Mumbai had topped the results with the best quality of water.

While Delhi figured at the bottom of the rankings, as per news reports, Chennai and Kolkata were also found to have poor quality drinking water, the petition had claimed.

"Safe, affordable and accessible water and sanitation are pre-requisites for people to live healthy, dignified and productive lives," the plea had said.