Releasing water for Kumbh Mela during drought was illegal: Bombay High Court

A division bench of Justice A S Oka and Justice A A Sayed was hearing a petition filed by environment activist Hiralal Desarda who had opposed the state government’s decision to release water from the dam for Kumbh Mela.

The court had last year directed the chief secretary to look into the legality of this diversion of water and the latter had passed an order in January 2016 saying the decision was lawful. Senior Counsel A A Kumbhakoni, who was appointed as amicus curiae, had told the court that “this  decision to release water is contrary to State Government’s water policy of 2003 which prioritises water usage for domestic use, sanitation, agricultural, industrial, commercial and environmental”.

Since sufficient water was not being allocated for even these purposes because of scarcity and drought, it could not be allocated for religious purposes, observed the court.

The division bench, therefore, said, “Though it is claimed that the water released for Shahi Snan of Kumbh Mela was less than what was planned, the fact remains that in the year 2015-16 when there was hydrological drought, the water released by the state government for Shahi Snan is in breach of its own water policy and therefore, illegal.”

The petitioner had also pointed out that both Jalyukta Shivar and river rejuvenation schemes were not being implemented in a systematic and scientific manner by the state government.

“These schemes should be looked into. The state may consider appointing a committee of experts to address this. There is no overall and comprehensive policy decision taken by the state before starting implementation of the said two schemes. If the petitioner is right, the consequences of implementing the schemes in an unscientific manner may be drastic and devastating,” said the bench.

The court has asked the state government to decide on the formation of a committee by January 31, 2017.