The Supreme Court’s vacation bench, led by Justice PK Mishra, postponed the hearing until June 12 because they did not have a copy of the UYRB report. The Haryana government, also involved in the case, stated that they had submitted a document to the court.
However, the bench criticized the Delhi government for not addressing a defect identified by the registry during the petition filing process. This led to the inability to receive reports and applications related to the case.
The Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) informed the court that Himachal Pradesh cannot assess the release of 137 cusecs of extra drinking water to Delhi as instructed by the Supreme Court. This is due to Himachal’s lack of storage infrastructure and the absence of data confirming the surplus water released beyond the state’s requirements.
The bench, also comprising Justice PB Varale said, “The defects were pointed out last week and still they have not been removed.”
Pulling up the Delhi government represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Shadan Farasat appearing virtually and advocate Talha Abdul Rehman, who was physically present in court, the bench remarked, “You cannot take this court for a ride. Let the office verify if you have removed the defects. If you have not, then this petition will be dismissed.”
ASG Vikramjit Banerjee, representing the Centre and UYRB, along with senior advocate Wasim Qadri, informed the court that the Board has submitted its status report, following the June 6 order mandating HP to provide 137 cusecs of extra water to Delhi. The order also instructed Haryana to ensure the surplus water received at Hathnikund Barrage (HKB) is redirected to Delhi via Wazirabad. The court directed the Board to monitor the surplus water flow at HKB and report back on compliance.
Water received at HKB is distributed to Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi. Delhi also receives extra water from Haryana as per past Supreme Court orders. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Haryana, informed the court that the state has filed a response, but it wasn’t available to the court.
On June 5, the top court directed UYRB to address Delhi’s water crisis. On June 6, HP government informed the court of its willingness to release 137 cusecs of surplus water from March to June 2024, as ordered. HP was mandated to supply this water starting June 7.