HC directs MP Chief Secy to appear on January 15

Hearing petitions over the deaths and illness caused by the contaminated water supply in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Chief Secretary to appear before it through video conference on January 15. The HC termed the response of the State Government and local administration to the crisis as “insensitive”, said High Court Bar Association president Ritesh Inani, one of the petitioners.

A Division Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi was hearing four or five petitions related to the incident, Inani told reporters. “During the proceedings, the High Court termed the response submitted by the Government as insensitive and observed that the incident had not only shaken public trust but also adversely affected Indore’s image at the national level,” he said.

“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 a similar incident in other places,” the order stated January 6 reads. Judges also directed the State to ensure the immediate supply of safe drinking water through tankers or packaged water at the Government's 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 the installation of online water quality monitoring systems and the use of chlorination and disinfection protocols, the Court called for a long-term water safety plan for Indore city.

Referring to Indore’s consistent top ranking in the Union Government’s annual cleanliness survey, the court remarked that such negligence in a city known for cleanliness was a matter of serious concern, Inani added. The HC also took a strong view of the status report submitted by the Indore Municipal Corporation and the district administration regarding the death toll, and described the entire episode as extremely grave, he said. The court would examine whether the matter involved criminal liability or civil liability, Inani added.

At least 38 fresh cases of vomiting and diarrhoea linked to contaminated drinking water were detected on Monday at the Bhagirathpura primary health centre, with a senior official putting the death toll so far at seven.

Six patients have been referred for treatment, and 110 are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, including 15 in ICUs, officials said.