3 min readMumbaiJun 22, 2026 08:04 PM IST
First published on: Jun 22, 2026 at 07:22 PM IST
Observing that even after over 75 years of independence, citizens were forced to approach courts for a basic necessity like water, the Bombay High Court on Monday pulled up the Maharashtra government over the continued lack of access to potable drinking water in Melghat and other regions of Maharashtra.
It said that the petitioners sought to assert basic fundamental rights and sought a concrete, time-bound plan consisting of immediate steps to ensure water supply across regions.
A bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Kamal R Khata made the remarks while hearing PILs raising concerns over malnutrition among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in Melghat in Amravati district and other tribal regions in Maharashtra.
During the earlier hearing on May 7, the HC had asked the state authorities to ensure that “human life and cattle” in 300 villages in the tribal Melghat area of Amravati district in the Vidarbha region did not go “thirsty” amid soaring summer temperatures and that adequate water supply was provided.
The state lawyer had then submitted that “in some areas there are tankers kept in readiness at the beck and call and one indication of need of water will be responded to by a tanker supplying water in that village.”
“After 75 years of independence, you have a petitioner who has to come to court for drinking water in a state like Maharashtra. You are providing tankers, you are not obliging,” the bench orally remarked on Monday and sought to know the status of drinking water supply across the state.
After the government lawyer began referring to the situation in Melghat, the bench said that it was looking at the state overall and not limiting itself to a particular region.
“As a citizen of Maharashtra, I am not getting drinking water. For a human being, water is essential. Why do you need an indication? A person cannot wait for drinking water for 24 hours,” the bench remarked, emphasising that access to potable water is a basic, fundamental right and not a matter of administrative discretion.
The bench went on to remark, “Orders after orders are passed…We are a progressive state of Maharashtra. Do not give us excuses for not providing water. They (petitioners) are not seeking luxury from you but a basic fundamental right. Tell us a concrete scheme on how you will provide drinking water to the last person in the region,” the bench said, directing the state to provide an immediate implementation plan during the next hearing on Tuesday, June 23.
Court was hearing PILs raising concerns over malnutrition among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in Melghat in Amravati district and other tribal regions in Maharashtra. 
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