Stating that Yamuna River water sharing between the states is a “complex and sensitive” issue and that they don’t have the expertise to adjudicate it, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to decide on the Delhi government’s demand for 150 cusecs of additional water to meet an acute water shortage in the wake of an unprecedented heatwave.

Describing it as a “complex and sensitive” issue and the court being bereft of expertise to deal with the river water sharing disputes, a vacation bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale directed the Upper Yamuna River Board directed the UYRB to convene a meeting tomorrow (Friday – June 14) with all parties and take a decision expeditiously on the matter.

“The issue concerning the sharing of Yamuna water between states is a complex and sensitive issue, and this Court does not have the expertise, even on an emergent basis,” the court said in its order.

The order further said that the issue should be left to be considered by the body constituted with the agreement of parties in the Memorandum of Understanding in 1994.

Disposing of the plea by the Delhi government for additional water, the order further said that if required, the board can convene on a day-to-day basis.

The top court’s direction came as senior advocate Shyam Divan appearing for Haryana said that the matters relating to water sharing can be solved by the expert bodies which in the instant case is Upper Yamuna River Board and referred to earlier top court judgments to buttress his point.

The Upper Yamuna River Board was set-up in pursuance to a 1994 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sharing of Yamuna River water between Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Asking the Upper Yamuna River Board to deal with the issue of Delhi seeking 150 cusecs of additional water, the vacation bench referred to the previous judgment of the top court on the issue.

The three judgments/order cited by the vacation bench in its order today, where matters were referred to the expert bodies to deal with included 2018 and 2021 judgments/orders relating to Yamuna River water sharing between Delhi, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. The third judgment related to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on the sharing of the Cauvery River water.

In the hearing today, the court warned that it will initiate contempt proceedings against an officer of Himachal Pradesh belonging to its Waster Department for the misleading statement that the Hill State had 137 cusecs of surplus water. The court said that its June 6 order was based on that statement by the Himachal Pradesh officer who was present in the court that day. However, the matter was put to rest after the Advocate General of State tendered an apology and withdrew the statement.