Delhi to approach Yamuna board on water sharing with Haryana
New Delhi, May 16: Haryana on Wednesday assured the Supreme Court that it will not disrupt the supply of Yamuna river water to Delhi till Monday, as the court asked the Delhi government to approach the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) for adjudication of water sharing dispute between the two states.
A bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur asked the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to make a request before Haryana on Wednesday itself, on which Haryana would take a decision on the amount of water to be released to Delhi till Monday.
The apex court also pulled up the DJB for approaching the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi High Court, against Haryana on water sharing, as the issue has to be decided by the UYRB, a statutory body.
"You can always go to the Board, it's an expert body set up particularly for this purpose. Why should we do the job if expect body?" the bench said.
The DJB which had approached the court saying it has not been receiving sufficient water from Haryana, withdrew its plea to move before the Board.
The Board would decide the issue on release of water by Harayana "independently", said the court.
The Centre set up the the Board primarily to regulate allocation of available water among six beneficiary basin states and also for monitoring the return flow.
As the DJB repeatedly requested that status quo on supply of water be maintained, the bench said make a request before Haryana as it's been "very reasonable" in its approach on sharing of Yamuna water with Delhi.
The bench was hearing a plea filed by the DJB against a daily shortfall of 120 cusecs of water from the Yamuna.
The DJB had sought instructions to Haryana to supply 450 cusecs of potable water daily to Delhi, as agreed between the two states.
Haryana was supplying only 330 cusecs of water daily to Delhi as against 450 cusec per day, the DJB petition said.
With Delhi facing water shortage, the DJB had moved the Supreme Court for directions to Haryana to release adequate water to the Wazirabad reservoir, alleging that Yamuna water supply had been reduced by one third.
"Delhi is in the midst of an acute water crisis owing to stop in supply of water by Haryana into the Yamuna, which is meant for drinking purposes in Delhi," the DJB plea said.
The DJB's water treatment plants have been functioning below capacities over the past few weeks due to a drop in Yamuna water level and release of polluted water from Haryana that could not be treated, it added.
Yamuna water sharing between Delhi and Haryana has been a contentious issue for decades and the apex court had ordered Haryana to release 450 cusecs of water daily to Delhi in February 1996.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
