How will you use groundwater reserve found in S Delhi? HC to

Image
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : Jul 23 2015 | 4:42 PM IST
The Delhi High Court has directed the city's jal board to give a "definitive" plan on how it intends to utilise the huge reserve of 63000 cubic metres of groundwater discovered in a residential colony in South Delhi.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva directed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to file a "definitive report" after the civic body's senior officials, present in the court, could not give a clear reply on how the water would be utilised.
The DJB officials -- an executive engineer and a junior engineer, told the court that the water was not fit for human consumption in its current state as it had a high concentration of e.Coli bacteria.
They said that the water cannot also be used for watering parks, or for horticulture.
The officials said that they will instead mix it with filtered water to bring its parameters within limits prescribed for drinking and then will supply it to households.
Alternatively, the water can be sent to a water treatment plant, for which a storage would have to be built, DJB said.
Not satisfied by the reply, the court asked the DJB officials to not tell "stories" and directed them to give "a clear plan of action".
"It is good that you got some water, right? Are you not concerned with it? Do you want it to evaporate into the air and rain somewhere else?" the court asked and directed DJB to "think about what to do and implement it immediately".
The court was also not impressed with the DJB suggestion of mixing filtered water with the discovered ground water, saying its like saying add water to poison so that it gets diluted.
The order and observations of the court came on a PIL filed by M L Ahuja, a resident of Siddharth Extension in South Delhi where the huge reserve of water has been found.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Jul 23 2015 | 4:42 PM IST

Next Story