Plea to permanently close and seal unauthorised packaged drinking water plants in Sivaganga district
The Madras High Court is seeking a response from the State regarding a public interest litigation petition to permanently close unauthorized packaged drinking water plants and commercial raw-water extraction points in Sivaganga district, India. The petitioner argues these operations cause severe groundwater depletion and quality degradation in an agriculturally fragile, drought-prone region.
Why it matters
This case highlights critical environmental and social issues related to water scarcity, unsustainable commercial practices, and their impact on local communities and agriculture in drought-prone regions, potentially setting a precedent for water resource management.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday sought response from the State to a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the authorities to permanently close and seal all unauthorised packaged drinking water plants, commercial mineral water units and commercial raw-water extraction points in Sivaganga district.
A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel was hearing the petition filed by P. Radhakrishnan of Ilayangudi in Sivaganga district.
The petitioner said Sivaganga district is an agriculturally fragile, drought-prone, and economically backward region facing acute water stress due to unfavourable soil structures, high evapotranspiration rates, and irregular monsoon precipitation.
He said unscientific, illegal, and commercial over-extraction of groundwater by unlicensed packaged drinking water units had led to the catastrophic depletion of local aquifers, depriving rural households and agricultural communities of their primary source of water.
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