If You Don't Act, We Will Ask Delhi Police: Supreme Court Raps AAP Government Over Tanker Mafia Amid Ongoing Water Crisis

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (12 June) rapped the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi for the prevalence of tanker mafia and water wastage in the city, asked what measures it has taken against them.

A vacation bench of the Apex Court comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale stated that if the Delhi government cannot handle the tanker mafia, it will direct the Delhi Police to take action.

"Why were false statements made before this court? Water is coming from Himachal Pradesh then where is the water going in Delhi? There is so much spillage, tanker mafias etc... what measures have you taken in this regard," the bench questioned.

"In Delhi, tanker mafias work. Have you taken any action? If you are not taking action, then we will hand it over to Delhi police to take action against tanker mafias. We are seeing this in all channels. You are not doing anything in this regard. It is a recurring problem every summer. What have you done to prevent water wastage coming from all these sources? ... Have you taken any action or FIR against any tanker mafias? Tanker mafias get water and pipelines are running dry," Justice Mishra said, Bar and Bench reported.

Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the Delhi government, responded that actions are being taken, including the massive disconnection of water supplies to prevent excess water wastage.

The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi government to file a report detailing the actions taken to prevent the loss of water.

The matter is scheduled to be taken up again on Thursday (13 June).

The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by the Delhi government seeking a directive for Haryana to release surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to alleviate its water crisis.

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