MP High Court Dismisses PIL Against AMRUT 2.0; Says Pending Earlier Schemes Or Financial Burden No Ground To Halt New Water Supply Projects

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Friday (November 28), dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the approval of the AMRUT 2 project for fresh water supply, noting that the incomplete implementation of AMRUT 1 or the potential financial burden on the exchequer cannot justify preventing the State from formulating a new scheme for providing adequate drinking water. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf observed; "Merely because an earlier scheme has not been fully implemented is no ground to prevent the State Government and the Municipal Corporation from formulating better schemes keeping in view the future requirement". The bench further observed;"Merely because the scheme is going to place a financial burden on the exchequer, is no ground to refuse implementation of a new scheme particularly when it pertains to providing adequate drinking water supply to the residents of the city keeping in view the present as well as future requirement. The experts have felt the need for formulating a scheme for providing adequate drinking water".The petitioner had filed a public interest litigation seeking to quash the resolution of October 7, 2023, passed by the Indore Municipal Corporation and the resolution of September 14, 2023, passed by the Mayor-in-council, wherein a detailed project report was approved for the supply of fresh water under AMRUT 2.0. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that in 2011, the AMRUT 1.0 scheme was formulated but was not completely implemented. Despite the same, the AMRUT 2.0 scheme has been floated, which would impose an extra burden on the exchequer. The court noted that the AMRUT 2.0 scheme records that in 2011, the population of Indore was about 19 lakhs, and thereafter, 29 villages were added, increasing the population to 22 lakhs, with an additional 280 square kilometres added into the city bounds. The court observed that the scheme had an exception that by 2050, the population may exceed 82 lakhs, which will require a substantial amount of drinking water and water supply. The scheme notes that the present supply of water is 323 MLD, whereas there is a shortage of 97.69 MLD, proposed to be increased to 1650 MLD. The bench therefore noted that "The schemes which are proposed are formulated by expert bodies comprising of the town planners and other engineers and experts. The scheme itself stipulates that there is a requirement of enhanced water supply keeping in view the increase in population as well as the municipal area of the city of Indore". The court opined that merely because an earlier scheme had not been implemented completely, it could not be a valid ground to prevent the State Government and Municipal Corporation from formulating better schemes, keeping in view the future requirements. Additionally, the court noted that the earlier scheme was implemented 14 years earlier and therefore necessitated the formulation of a fresh scheme to address the problem of the shortage in water supply of the city. Therefore, the court dismissed the petition. Case Title: Mahesh Garg v State of Madhya Pradesh [WP-38893-2025]Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (MP) 266For Petitioner: Advocate Manish YadavFor State: Additional Advocate General Anand Soni with Advocate Garvit SinghClick here to read/download the Order

MP High Court Dismisses PIL Against AMRUT 2.0; Says Pending Earlier Schemes Or Financial Burden No Ground To Halt New Water Supply Projects

Jayanti Pahwa

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