The Madhya Pradesh High Court, Indore Bench, directed authorities to preserve original records linked to the Bhagirathpura contaminated water crisis. A Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi heard PILs over deaths allegedly caused by polluted drinking water.
INDORE: The Madhya Pradesh High Court (Indore Bench) has instructed the local administration to safeguard original records pertaining to the contaminated drinking water crisis in the Bhagirathpura area. This includes documents related to a pipeline tender and an investigation report from the State Pollution Control Board.
A bench comprising Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi convened to review several public interest litigations concerning fatalities linked to contaminated water in the region.
Local residents report a death toll of 25 due to vomiting and diarrhea associated with contaminated water since December, while the state government’s status report submitted to the court on January 15 indicates that seven deaths have officially been recorded.
A death audit report from a committee at the Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College suggested that 15 deaths in Bhagirathpura might be related to the contamination issue. Officials have identified that contaminated water was found in 51 tubewells in Bhagirathpura and test results indicated the presence of E. coli bacteria. This contamination was attributed to sewage from a toilet mixing with piped drinking water, according to officials.
The High Court,in its order, stated,
“It is directed that the Collector, Indore, and the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, shall ensure that the relevant records relating to the subject matter of the petition, including the record of the tender for laying a drinking water line in Bhagirathpura and the sample report, etc., are kept in safe custody,”
This directive followed concerns expressed by the petitioners’ lawyers regarding the potential tampering of original documents. The court also ordered the state government to adhere to its interim orders dated January 6 and submit an updated progress report.
These orders mandated the administration
- to provide free medical treatment to individuals suffering from diarrhea in Bhagirathpura,
- to ensure access to safe drinking water,
- to prohibit the use of contaminated water sources,
- to enhance drinking water testing and disinfection processes,
- to improve water supply infrastructure and develop a long-term water security strategy.
During the hearing, government lawyers informed the court that a high-level committee has been established to investigate the causes behind the contamination of drinking water, hold individuals accountable, and propose measures to avert future incidents.
However, the petitioners’ lawyers asserted that the committee was merely a facade, aimed at protecting the higher officials responsible for the crisis. They also accused the state government and the Indore Municipal Corporation of failing to properly implement the High Court’s interim directives, a claim the state government denied.
The High Court requested that the petitioners’ lawyers propose independent members for a new monitoring committee, which will be led by the District Magistrate to ensure strict adherence to the interim orders. The lawyers requested additional time for this.
The court has instructed Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anurag Jain to participate online on that date. Jain had attended Tuesday’s session and two prior meetings via video link.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh government informed the High Court’s Indore bench that seven individuals, including a five months old infant, died during an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea in the Bhagirathpura area of the city. However, the 158 page status report presented to a division bench did not explicitly identify the disease responsible for these fatalities.
The High Court is set to revisit the PILs on January 27.