High Court Requests Water Report

The Telangana High Court, in a two-judge bench, ordered civic bodies to follow its previous orders and submit a status report in a writ petition stressing the issue of water scarcity. Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Junkanti’s bench were addressing a letter from journalist P.R. Subas Chandran, which brought attention to the water scarcity and asked for an order for the government to take action to control and preserve water use. The government was instructed to establish an expert committee in 2005 by the bench to look at the problem and offer potential solutions. This was completed, and in 2006, a report detailing the actions taken was sent in. In his capacity as an amicus curiae, senior counsel D. Prakash Reddy provided a statement outlining nine water conservation measures, such as requiring rainwater harvesting and water recycling facilities in new construction and outlawing the establishment of new beverage-making businesses. Amicus has also brought up the necessity of creating a satellite city and the requirement for a watchdog group. This was previously noted by the bench, which also granted the administration a fortnight to submit a thorough answer. When this was not done, the bench gave the respondents three weeks to follow the court’s instructions; if they didn’t, an appropriate order would be made against them.