High Court forms five-member expert panel to inspect Nagpur water supply, sets two-week deadline
Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas have asked the committee to examine tap water quality and contamination complaints and report within two weeks.
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The High Court has constituted a five-member expert committee in view of complaints about the quality of tap water and contaminated water in Nagpur. Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas appointed the committee to inspect the city's water supply system.
The committee is to examine the water supply in the city, tap connections and other necessary aspects. It must then submit its report to the court within two weeks. The court has fixed a two-week deadline for the task.
The committee comprises Dr Pawan Labhshetwar, professor and scientist at IIT Madras; Dr Kalpana Bhode, former assistant engineer with the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran; Dr Karthik Balasundaram; Dr Avinash Vasudev; and advocate Ravi Sanyal.
With the court constituting an expert committee amid the complaints of contaminated water, a way has opened to assess the actual condition of the water supply. The committee's inspection and report are expected to give a clearer picture of the quality of water, the distribution system and the various aspects of the complaints.
In assessing a water supply system, not only water quality but also its distribution and the process of reaching consumers are important. Water leaving the treatment plant, the distribution pipelines, tap connections and the water reaching consumers could all be subjects of inspection at different levels.
Meanwhile, OCW, the company that runs the supply, has argued that it is not right to declare the whole city's water supply contaminated without understanding the gap between the figures. However, the actual position on these claims and complaints can now be assessed on the basis of the expert committee's inspection and report.
OCW told the court that, under the norms of the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), 300 water samples must be tested every month for a population of 3 million.
The company claims that it tests about 1,500 to 1,700 samples every month. According to the company, this number of samples tested is roughly five times the prescribed standard.
