- (1.) The Civil Miscellaneous application is allowed as prayed for. CWP 5846 of 2010
(2.) The principal prayer in this writ petition filed as a Public Interest Litigation is for directions to immediately discontinue the practice of providing unmetered water connections in the States of Punjab and Haryana and Union Territory, Chandigarh. According to the petitioner, the supply of unmetered water independent of actual consumption results in misuse and wastage of water which has become a scarce commodity. Hence the directions prayed for, as noticed above, by way of this Public Interest Litigation.
(3.) In response to the notice issued by the Court, the Chandigarh Administration had submitted before the Court a written statement to the effect that out of 1,44,444 water connections, 17,560 are unmetered. As already recorded in the earlier order of this Court dated 5.12.2011, an estimate of Rs. 227.16 lacs has been approved by the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh to convert the unmetered connections into metered connections and the work is in progress. In the said order, it has been recorded by the Court that the estimated date for completion of the work is 31.3.2012.;