NGT directed the Ministry of Jal Shakti to examine whether spring water used by industry on private land should be regulated as groundwater.
The matter concerns Mohan Meakin’s Kasauli distillery, where a joint committee found one borewell and use of spring water without a logbook.
An applicant told NGT that DUSIB was shirking its responsibility to provide sewage collection and drainage in Delhi’s jhuggi-jhopri clusters.
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board told NGT that sewage from unsewered areas continues to enter Veeraraghavan lake in Tambaram, where water hyacinth has spread across nearly three-fourths of the water spread area.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on August 21, 2026 directed the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to examine whether spring water used by industry on private land should be regulated and included within the definition of groundwater, as it is under the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, 2005.
The matter concerns Mohan Meakin’s Kasauli distillery, which allegedly used groundwater without the required permission.
A joint committee report recorded that there is one borewell within the distillery premises. The unit also uses spring water as a source of supply but has not maintained a logbook for it.
The court was informed that Section 2(g) of the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water Act defines groundwater to include springs. Section 7 deals with permission to extract and use groundwater, while Section 14 requires every user of groundwater in a notified area to install a water-measuring device. Section 12 requires users in notified areas to pay royalty for groundwater extraction at prescribed rates.
Counsel for the project proponent said the industry had written to the member secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water Authority on January 18, 2024, seeking registration of the natural spring within its private premises. However, the authority informed the company on November 21, 2024, that the natural spring did not need to be registered.
The NGT directed that the Himachal Pradesh Ground Water Authority be impleaded in the matter to explain how compliance with Sections 12 and 14 of the Act can be ensured without registering the natural spring within the project proponent’s premises.
Counsel for the project proponent said the industry was paying royalty on water drawn from the natural spring. Counsel for the Central Ground Water Authority submitted that natural springs are not covered as groundwater under the guidelines issued by the Jal Shakti ministry.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) is shirking its responsibility to provide sewage collection and drainage in jhuggi-jhopri clusters in Delhi, according to a note filed by applicant Abhishek Dutt before the NGT on August 24, 2026.
The note was filed in response to DUSIB’s status report.
On August 19, 2025, the Delhi Jal Board had filed an affidavit before the tribunal stating that sewage was flowing uninterrupted from jhuggi-jhopri clusters in the Barapullah catchment and that DUSIB was responsible for the upkeep of these clusters.
On August 20, 2025, the NGT directed DUSIB to disclose the status of sewer collection from the locations flagged by DJB. Attempts were then made by DJB, DUSIB, the New Delhi Municipal Council and other departments to create single-point sewage collection systems in jhuggi-jhopri clusters and forest land.
From January 8, 2026, DUSIB repeatedly sought time to file its response. On March 24, 2026, it took the stand that DJB was responsible for laying sewer lines and pipes in jhuggi-jhopri bastis and clusters.
The NGT subsequently passed orders on April 1 and July 8, 2026 on the role of various agencies, including DUSIB, in providing a single discharge point for each JJ cluster.
On July 8, the tribunal found that under Section 11 of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010, DUSIB has a clear responsibility to prepare schemes for the improvement of JJ bastis, including drainage improvement. The tribunal said DUSIB’s submission that it had no responsibility for drainage in JJ clusters could not be accepted in view of the clear provisions of Section 11(1) of the Act.
DUSIB was also directed to disclose whether any such scheme existed and what action it had taken under Section 11(2) to implement drainage improvement. The board did not seek recall of the July 8 order fixing its responsibility under the Act. The NGT also referred to DUSIB’s Citizen’s Charter and directed it to file a fresh affidavit, which was submitted on August 7, 2026.
The applicant’s note said DUSIB was now attempting to avoid responsibility. In its status report, DUSIB claimed that Section 11 of the Act does not create any binding obligation to prepare a scheme for improvement of jhuggi bastis, citing the use of the word ‘may’. It further stated that even if it chooses to prepare such a scheme, there is no binding obligation to include all or any of the provisions listed under Section 11(1). According to DUSIB, a scheme may provide only for a Basti Vikas Kendra, library, park, shishu vatika or public gym.
DUSIB also stated that the matter was being placed before the competent authority for a formal order under Section 11(2) of the Act, requiring DJB to provide sewer lines and sewage treatment plants to comply with the NGT’s orders.
The applicant argued that DUSIB, as the competent authority under the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956, is required to construct drains and remove rubbish, and cannot shrug off responsibility. Under Section 23 of the Act, DUSIB is also required to inspect sewers or channels.
The note also pointed out that the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy identifies DUSIB as the nodal agency for relocation and rehabilitation of jhuggi-jhopri bastis on land belonging to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Delhi government and its departments or agencies.
For jhuggi-jhopri colonies on land belonging to central government agencies, including the Railways, Delhi Development Authority, Land and Development Office, Delhi Cantonment Board and New Delhi Municipal Council, the respective agency may either carry out relocation and rehabilitation according to Delhi government policy or entrust the work to DUSIB.
Taken together, the applicant said, the DUSIB Act, 2010, and the Slum Areas Act, 1956, make it clear that DUSIB has a continuing responsibility to improve drainage and sewage infrastructure in JJ bastis. DUSIB’s reliance on the word ‘may’ in Section 11 to disclaim this responsibility is therefore misconceived, the applicant submitted.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has told the NGT that efforts are being taken to free Veeraraghavan lake in Tambaram from water hyacinth and sewage pollution, according to a report filed on August 20, 2026.
During inspections on September 4, 2025, March 14, 2026 and May 18, 2026, officials found that sewage and sullage from surrounding unsewered residential areas under Tambaram City Municipal Corporation were mixing with stormwater drains and flowing into the lake.
Inspectors also found that nearly three-fourths of the lake’s water spread area was infested with water hyacinth, indicating excessive nutrient enrichment and eutrophication due to sewage contamination.
TNPCB collected water samples from the lake in October 2024 and September 2025. The analysis showed that biological oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, faecal coliform and total coliform levels exceeded standards for inland surface water and drinking water.
The pollution control board asked Tambaram City Municipal Corporation to expedite a full-fledged underground sewerage system, along with house service connections, for the entire corporation area to prevent sewage from entering the lake.
The corporation must ensure that sewage from residential and commercial buildings is not discharged into stormwater drains or water bodies within its limits, the report said. It must also immediately plug all sewage outfalls from unsewered residential and commercial areas into water bodies, provide the necessary underground sewerage system and install proper boundary fencing along the entire periphery of Veeraraghavan lake, TNPCB stated.