Indore water contamination: Madhya Pradesh High Court directs Chief Secretary to appear via VC, explain action taken

Following the recent deaths owing to the supply of contaminated drinking water in Indore, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered the Chief Secretary to disclose the action being taken across State for preventing water contamination so as to avoid similar cases in other places [Mahesh Garg and Others v. State of Madhya Pradesh and others].A Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi asked the Chief Secretary to address it via video conferencing on January 15 on the following issues:a) Immediate and emergency directions in respect of the affected persons of the said area.b) Preventive and corrective measures.c) Inquiry and accountability orders.d) Disciplinary and penal action.e) Compensation of victims.f) Directions to local bodies.g) Public awareness and transparency."We direct the Chief Secretary of the State of Madhya Pradesh to address this Court through Video Conferencing on the aforesaid following issues which have been mentioned herein above in the order on the next date of hearing and will apprise this Court that what actions at the State level are being taken for preventing the water contamination in the entire State so as to prevent the similar incident in other places," the order reads..It also directed the State to ensure immediate supply of safe drinking water through tankers or packaged water at government cost to the affected areas.Further, the Court ordered the stoppage of using contaminated sources like specific pipelines, overhead tanks, borewells and rivers.The State has also been instructed to hold health camps to screen the affected residents and provide free treatment in government and empanelled private hospitals."The respondents shall conduct water quality testing at multiple points by the NABL Accredited Laboratories," the Court directed.Moreover, the Court ordered replacement and repair of pipelines, especially where sewer lines and water lines run parallel. Besides installation of online water quality monitoring systems and use of chlorination and disinfection protocols, the Court called for a long-term water safety plan for Indore city..The Court passed the order on Tuesday after hearing a batch of writ petitions relating to the water contamination in Bhagirathpura (Ward No 11 of Indore Municipal Corporation) and other areas.According to media reports, there have been seven deaths due to the supply of contaminated water in Indore and dozens cases of diarrhoea and other illnesses. .The Court said that the petitions fall within the ambit of public health emergency as the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to clean drinking water. Accordingly, the Court issued a slew of directions to the authorities and also said that it will examine the issues of inquiry, accountability, compensation to victims and penal actions.The issue of water contamination is not only problem of the Indore town but it is problem of the entire State, the bench said.However, considering the situation in Indore, the Court directed the authorities in Indore to ensure that its directions regarding the immediate supply of safe drinking water health camps and medical screening and free treatment are strictly complied with before the next date."The respondents will also produce the relative files relating to the issuance of the tender for fresh pipelines for drinking water and also the report of M.P. Pollution Board in respect of the samples which were conducted in the year 2017-2018," the Court further ordered..Senior Advocate Ajay Bagadia along with Advocates Saily Purandare, Manish Yadav and Ritesh Inani appeared for the petitioners.Additional Advocate General Rahul Sethi with Government Advocate Aditya Garg represented the State.Advocate Rishi Tiwari appeared for the Municipal Corporation..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.