Tanker mafia active in Haryana, Delhi Govt tells top court

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, June 13

A day after being taken to task by the Supreme Court for its failure to take action against the water tanker mafia in the national capital, the AAP government filed an affidavit in the top court on Thursday saying the water tanker mafia was operating in Haryana and not Delhi.

In the affidavit, the Delhi Government said, “The tanker mafia is operating on the Haryana side of the Yamuna river and the petitioner (Delhi Government) lacks jurisdiction to act against the same.”

“It is for Haryana to explain what steps it is taking to preserve the full supply of water to Delhi between the point of release and the point of receipt,” the Arvind Kejriwal Government told the top court. On Thursday, senior counsel AM Singhvi submitted on behalf of the Delhi Government that water tanker mafias should be given death penalty. He said Haryana Police and the Delhi Police should take stringent actions against the tanker mafia at their respective border.

A Bench led by Justice PK Mishra had on Wednesday pulled up the Delhi Government for its failure to take any action against the water tanker mafia in the national capital which is facing an acute water crisis during peak summer.

“If you are not taking action, then we will hand it over to Delhi Police to take action against the tanker mafia,” the Bench had told senior advocate AM Singhvi who represented the Delhi Government.

“There is so much spillage…the tanker mafia is there. People are suffering. We are seeing this in all channels. You are not doing anything. It’s a recurring problem every summer. What have you done to prevent water wastage?… Have you taken any action or (filed) FIRs against the tanker mafia? Tanker mafias get water and pipelines are running dry,” the Bench had said.

The Bench had directed the Delhi Government to file an affidavit detailing the measures taken by the Delhi Jal Board to check pilferage and wastage of water in the national capital.