Supplying Polluted Water Violates Consumer Rights

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Doodh Ganga at Navkan Valley Pir Panjal

We recently commemorated World Consumer Rights Day, observed every year on March 15. This day serves as a reminder of the importance of consumer rights and their protection. World Consumer Rights Day was first observed in 1983, and the date was chosen to commemorate U.S. President John F. Kennedy's address to the U.S. Congress on March 15, 1962, in which he formally recognized these rights. He was the world's first leader to do so.

This year's theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2025 was “A Just Transition to Sustainable Lifestyles.” This theme clearly reflects the importance of making sustainable and healthy lifestyle choices accessible and available to all consumers, including access to safe drinking water.

Soon after commemorating Consumer Rights Day, people across the world, including J&K, celebrated International Water Day on March 22. This year's theme for the occasion was glacier preservation. After writing on both these issues recently, I found a close relationship between water and consumer rights, which led me to write this piece for public awareness and to sensitize the government about this critical issue.

Access to Clean Drinking Water Is a Consumer Right

When we talk about consumer rights, people in the Indian subcontinent-especially in Jammu & Kashmir-hardly imagine that access to clean drinking water is also a consumer right. This is because Jammu & Kashmir has been blessed with numerous fresh drinking water sources, and we never anticipated a time when most of these sources would become polluted, forcing us to rely on packaged drinking water.

There was a time, 20 to 30 years ago, when we drank water directly from rivers and streams. Even the water of Dal Lake was used for drinking purposes just 30 to 40 years ago. The transition to tap water occurred between the 1960s and the 1980s. Now, we have reached a point where we are hesitant to drink even tap water. Many have already shifted to drinking packaged water, which is often labeled as“mineral water.” However, whether this water is genuinely“mineral water” is a separate debate. Additionally, storing water in plastic bottles is harmful, especially when grocery stores leave them exposed to sunlight.

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As drinking water sources continue to deplete, the government has started charging consumers for drinking water supply-something that was freely available in Kashmir and Jammu until a decade ago. Consumers are now required to sign agreements with the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Jal Shakti Department. This entitles them to clean drinking water, which clearly brings the PHE – Jal Shakti Department under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. However, neither consumers nor the government seem to recognize this fact.

Pollution in Drinking Water Sources

I have always spoken based on facts, which I gather through RTI or other reliable sources. I have personally visited Doodh Ganga at its source near Navkan Valley in the Pir Panjal mountains, about a 10-hour hike from Yusmarg. At its source, the water is so pristine and clean that words cannot do justice to its purity. However, just 15 to 20 kilometers downstream, Doodh Ganga becomes heavily polluted.

This pollution is an open fact, and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued multiple orders in this regard following my petition filed four years ago. Recently, the NGT reprimanded the Commissioner Secretary of the Housing & Urban Development Department for failing to address the water pollution in Doodh Ganga. Hefty penalties are expected to follow now.

Water Analysis Confirms Contamination

The NGT has already imposed environmental compensation amounting to Rs 79 crores on the SMC, the Mining Department, and the Municipal Committees of Chadoora and Budgam.

• Initially, a Rs 3 crore penalty was imposed on the government in March 2022.
  
• Then, a Rs 35 crore penalty was imposed in October 2022.
  
• Finally, an Rs 41.67 crore penalty was imposed on Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) in October 2024.
  

The government has sanctioned Rs 140 crores to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) from Barzulla to Chadoora to treat wastewater entering Doodh Ganga.

The J&K Pollution Control Committee (PCC) submitted a detailed water analysis report last year as per the NGT's orders. The report states that the water quality in Doodh Ganga is extremely poor and not even fit for bathing. Ironically, this contaminated water is supplied to over six lakh people in Srinagar's uptown areas.

Lawmakers Express Concern

Untreated sewage and fecal waste continue to ente Doodh Ganga, Jhelum, and other water bodies across J&K. The same contaminated water is then supplied to the public.

Recently, MLA Bijbehara expressed outrage against municipal institutions in Bijbehara, Mattan, and Anantnag for allowing drains to discharge directly into Jhelum, as these towns lack sewage treatment plants. He criticized the government's misleading response in the Assembly and voiced his frustration on social media, stating that the“administration's response was riddled with flaws and misinformation.”

Similarly, MLA Uri, Sajjad Shafi, condemned the PHE – Jal Shakti Department for cutting off drinking water supply to some villages in his constituency due to non-payment of fees. He even declared in the Assembly,“Take my salary and restore drinking water to the people.”

Conclusion

Supplying contaminated water not only violates multiple environmental laws but is also a clear violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. More importantly, it breaches international laws, as the United Nations (UN) has declared access to clean and safe drinking water a basic human right.

On July 28, 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the right to water as a fundamental human right. Ensuring access to clean water is also a key objective of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, given the current state of affairs in Jammu & Kashmir, achieving these goals seems increasingly difficult.

Despite spending billions of rupees under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government has failed to provide safe drinking water. Pipelines have been laid across every corner of J&K, yet the water supplied remains contaminated-as proven in the Doodh Ganga case pending before the NGT for the last four years.

• Views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer.

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