The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the District Administration are facing increasing difficulties regarding the issue of drinking water pipelines passing through drains and sewers in the city. During a hearing on Thursday at the Central Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Bhopal, the petitioners raised serious objections to the joint investigation report of the Municipal Corporation, District Admini-stration, and Pollution Control Board, calling it misleading. The petitioners allege that the administration has made claims contrary to the ground reality in its report. Petitioners Dr P G Najpande, Rajat Bhargava, and their Advocate Prabhat Yadav presented their case before a bench comprising Justice Shiv Kumar Singh and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi.

 

They stated that the State of the drinking water system in the city is alarming, and that old pipelines are passing through drains and sewers at many locations. This poses a risk of drinking water contamination. Administration’s report: On November 1, the administration’s joint investigation committee submitted its report on the matter. It claimed that the city’s drinking water supply pipelines are located away from drains and that quality water is being provided to the citizens. The petitioners questioned the report’s credibility, stating that this claim is contrary to the actual situation. Allegations: The petition, filed by the Citizens’ Consumer Guidance Forum, claims that approximately 60 per cent of the city’s drinking water pipelines pass through drains and open sewers.

 

Many of these pipelines are 40 to 50 years old. The petition alleges that leaks in old pipelines can cause contaminated drain water to mix with drinking water, potentially adversely affecting public health. Two weeks to file objections: After hearing the petitioners’ arguments, the Tribunal granted them two weeks to submit formal, point-by-point objections to the discrepancies pointed out in the administration’s joint investigation report. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 8, 2027. The hearing will now proceed based on the petitioners’ objections and the facts in the administration's report.