The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of the health hazard posed by the mixing of tap and sewage water in many cities of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, saying the right to safe drinking water must be protected.
Recently in Indore, named the cleanest city of the country for eight years in a row in the central government’s Swachh Survekshan survey, over 20 people died following a diarrhoea outbreak triggered by contaminated water. Multiple media reports have said many people have fallen sick after drinking contaminated water in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as well.
The NGT chairperson, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, and expert member A. Senthil Vel have initiated proceedings on polluted drinking water.
The tribunal noted that such incidents raised serious concerns about environmental and public health and prima facie indicated that the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, had been violated.
The bench has sought
responses from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the state pollution control boards of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on the contaminated water issue.
According to official sources, the matter will be examined by the green tribunal to ensure accountability, compliance with environmental laws, and protection of citizens’ right to safe drinking water.
The NGT has taken note of media reports on sewage water flowing into drinking water pipelines because of decades-old, dilapidated infrastructure.
Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Banswara, Jaipur, Ajmer and Bora in Rajasthan have reportedly been affected. People have fallen ill with symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea after drinking sewage-contaminated water at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
In Bhopal, E. coli bacteria were detected in drinking water reportedly because of sewage leak into tubewells.
An audit report has been submitted to the Indore administration on the deaths of 21 people in Bhagirathpura, with the findings suggesting 15 of the fatalities may be linked to a recent outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea in the area.
