Negotiations on with Haryana over Yamuna water supply: Delhi govt to SC

The Delhi government today informed the Supreme Court that it was in talks with Haryana for the release of 450 cusecs of water of the Yamuna river daily for the national capital.

It said that Haryana has released some water today itself and would not like to press for the petition as of now.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud was told by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that courts should not pass any order and adjourn the matter by a week.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said both Delhi and Haryana governments were in negotiations at the highest level to resolve the crisis of water shortage.

To this, the bench said then it would simply adjourn the matter for April 16.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the DJB alleging that Haryana had reduced by one-third the supply of Yamuna water to the national capital, leading to a grave water crisis here.

The DJB has contended in its plea that Haryana was supplying Delhi only 330 cusecs of water daily as against 450 cusecs per day which was agreed upon between the state and the Union Territory.

It has claimed that while the population of Delhi has increased phenomenally over the years, there has not been a commensurate rise in the water supply.

The DJB has said that due to the present curtailment in water supply to the Wazirabad reservoir, the plant is running at reduced capacity leading to "grave water crisis" in the city.

It had said the situation would "escalate" as the temperature rises with the onset of summer and the demand for drinking water shoots up.

It has sought directions from the apex court to the Haryana government to supply the full 450 cusec of water per day continuously and daily to the Wazirabad reservoir.

The Delhi High Court had also recently told the Haryana government that it has to stick to its 2014 direction specifying the amount of water to be released to Delhi every day.