Excess Fluoride Found In 21% Of City Water Samples
The petitioner-activist Sandesh Singalkar asked the court to direct Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to approve a Rs36 lakh proposal submitted by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) to restore wells and safeguard drinking water sources.
The court was also urged to direct Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to submit an action plan for the restoration of wells across the city. The NMC, represented by counsel Sudhir Puranik, was granted one week to respond to the petition.
According to a recent report by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), 12 out of 57 water samples tested in the city were found to contain excess fluoride, raising concerns over long-term health impacts. "Fluoride above permissible limits can cause serious harm to human health, including skeletal and dental fluorosis," petitioner's counsel Smita Singalkar told the court.
The PIL, heard on Thursday by a division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Sachin Deshmukh, alleges that more than half of Nagpur's 860 public wells are either dry or severely polluted.
by Taboola
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The petitioner claimed 120 wells are officially declared defunct by the NMC, while many others have become dumping grounds. "These wells were meant to serve the public, not to breed guppy fish," the petitioner contended, pointing to the presence of fish farming in at least 138 wells.
Singalkar further informed the court that he personally inspected 11 wells across the city and found their condition "deplorable." Despite this, he said, the NMC has taken no concrete steps toward rejuvenating the affected water sources.
In its plan submitted earlier, the Neeri had offered to conduct a detailed survey and recommend revival strategies for the city's wells, at a cost of Rs36 lakh. The NMC is yet to approve the plan, despite having an annual budget of Rs5,500 crore, the petition notes. "A civic body with thousands of crores in spending capacity should not hesitate to allocate Rs36 lakh to safeguard public health," the petitioner argued.
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