Unfortunate that people have to knock on court's doors to get water after 75 yrs of independence: HC
Mumbai(PTI): The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said supply of regular drinking water was a fundamental right and it was unfortunate that people have to knock on the court's doors to get water even after 75 years of independence.
The strong remarks were made by a division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav while hearing a petition filed by residents of Kambe village in Bhiwandi town of neighbouring Thane district.
They were seeking a direction to STEM Water Distribution and Infra company, a joint venture of the Thane Zilla Parishad and the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, to supply drinking water on a daily basis.
The petitioners contended that they are currently getting water supply only twice a month and that too for approximately two hours.
On Wednesday, STEM's Managing Director Bhausaheb Dangde informed the court that water was being supplied daily, but only to one particular point, and claimed the distribution of water from that point to the petitioners' homes was the responsibility of the village's gram panchayat.
Dangde further said the demand for water in the village has increased over the last few years because of a rise in population there. We need to upgrade the system, he said.
To this, the court asked what should the petitioners do till the system is upgraded.
Water has to be supplied daily for at least a few hours. This is their fundamental right. People cannot suffer like this. It is really unfortunate that they (petitioners) have to knock on the court's doors even after 75 years of independence to get water supply, the HC said.
Don't force us to say that the Maharashtra government has failed to provide water to its citizens. We refuse to accept that the state government is so helpless. We will not shy away from calling the highest functionary of the state government, the bench said.
The petitioners had also alleged that the STEM company was supplying water illegally to local politicians and tanker lobbies, and claimed there were over 300 illegal water connections and valves fixed on the main pipeline.
The court sought to know from Dangde what steps the company has taken to address these issues.
First remove these illegal connections. You (STEM) have not even bothered to file any police complaints. Because of your inaction, the petitioners, who have to receive water as a right, are not getting any water, Justice Kathawalla said, adding that Dangde does not seem to be interested in solving the problem.
However, Dangde said when they go to remove the illegal connections, a crowd of over 150 people gathers and protests against their action.
The HC posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday, and directed Dangde to appear before the court physically and file an affidavit.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
