Bhopal: Terming the supply of sewage-mixed and contaminated drinking water in the cities of Madhya Pradesh as a serious threat to public health, the Central Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday, January 15, constituted a six-member high-level committee to investigate the issue.
The move comes in the backdrop of several deaths due to drinking of contaminated water in Indore, the state’s commercial capital.
The NGT bench of Justice Shiv Kumar Singh (Judicial Member) and Ishwar Singh (Expert Member) issued the order after hearing a petition filed by green activist Kamal Kumar Rathi and fixed the accountability of the state government, Pollution Control Board and all local bodies on the issue.
The petitioner pointed out that the amount of faecal coliform (faecal bacteria) in Bhopal’s ponds is at a dangerous level (1600 ml) and the sewage lines are contaminating the drinking water lines, which is a direct violation of Article 21 (right to protection of life of the citizens) of the Constitution, senior advocate Harpreet Singh Gupta said.
Considering the gravity of the matter, the bench has constituted a six-member high-level committee to investigate the ground reality, which will submit its report within six weeks, he said.
“The committee comprises of an expert nominated by the director of IIT, Indore, representative of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Bhopal, principal secretary of the state’s environment department, principal secretary, urban administration and development department, representative of water resources department and representative of the MP Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) as nodal agency,” Gupta said.
The NGT has specifically ordered that a copy of this order be sent to collectors and municipal commissioners of all districts of Madhya Pradesh to ensure immediate compliance with these directions.
The green bench also highlighted grave public health and environmental crises caused by contamination of the municipal drinking water supply in the city of Indore and the existence of similar systemic risks in other cities across the state.
During the last week of December 2025, residents of the Bhagirathpura area of Indore were exposed to severely contaminated drinking water supplied through municipal pipelines, resulting in a large-scale outbreak of water-borne diseases. The incident led to mass hospitalisation of affected residents, with several patients requiring intensive care, and resulted in multiple fatalities, including infants and elderly persons.
The court has issued detailed directions to ensure pure drinking water across the state, including the development of a robust Management Information System (MIS) and mobile app to provide information on water quality reports, supply timings and grievance redressal.
GIS-based mapping of drinking water and sewage lines across the state should be done to identify the places where sewage water is mixing with drinking water, while pre-chlorination, post-chlorination and aeration processes should be made mandatory for water purification.
All overhead tanks and sumps should be kept operational at all times and regularly cleaned and chlorinated.
Pipelines should be repaired on a war footing to prevent leakage and transmission losses, and all encroachments around water sources (ponds, wells, and stepwells) should be immediately removed.
In view of water scarcity between March and July, construction work should be stopped, and ward-wise rationing (alternate days) should be implemented.
A plan should be implemented to regenerate public wells and stepwells, and rainwater harvesting should be mandatory in government and private buildings (including schools and colleges), it said.
Punitive action should be taken for non-compliance. ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ should be issued to citizens regarding water usage.
All dairies with more than two animals within the city limits should be shifted out of the city within four months, while immersion of idols in any drinking water source (dam, pond) should be completely banned.
“Meters should be installed on all domestic and commercial water connections. A plan with pre-determined conditions should be prepared for supply through tankers during the water crisis,” it said.
The next hearing of the case will be held on March 30, Gupta said.
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