Report On Indore Contaminated Drinking Water Case Leaked, Holds Officials Guilty, Clean Chit To Politicians

The report on contaminated water supply in Bhagirathpura, Indore, stated that 24 people died due to the contaminated drinking water supply. In the investigation report of the Justice Sushil Gupta Committee formed on the instructions of the High Court, the officials were reportedly found guilty, but the politicians were given a clean chit.

The report said that due to the negligence of the officials, contaminated water continued to be distributed to the citizens, which led to tragedy. The 150-page report, which was ordered kept confidential by the High Court, but some pointers were leaked. The report reportedly found one former municipal commissioner guilty of negligence, but cleared three others.

Clean Chit To Public Representatives And Municipal Council

Jagran.com, quoting sources, reported that the investigation gave a clean chit to public representatives and the Municipal Corporation Council. The investigation committee acknowledged that officials were aware that the Narmada water distribution pipeline in Bhagirathpura was old and leaking, resulting in contaminated drinking water reaching homes. Despite this, officials stalled the proposal to replace the pipeline.

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It is also believed that if there had been no delay in tendering and changing the pipeline, such a huge tragedy due to contaminated water would not have occurred. The Narmada Project's Executive Engineer, Sanjeev Srivastava, has been held directly responsible for the negligence, said the sources. The investigation committee acknowledged that Srivastava, who had been working in the same department for a long time, was aware of the ground situation for a long time, yet he acted negligently.

IAS officers who served in the Municipal Corporation, including Additional Commissioners Rohit Sisonia, Sandeep Soni, Saroj Prajapati, and Pragya Tiwari, have also been held responsible for negligence. Former Municipal Commissioner Ashish Singh's name is also on the list, while former Municipal Commissioners Shivam Verma, Pratibha Pal, and Dilip Yadav, along with Additional Commissioner Abhilash Mishra, have been given a clean chit in the investigation.

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It is noteworthy that the first case of death due to contaminated water in Bhagirathapura was reported on December 21 last year. The death toll has since risen.

Recommendation Of Compensation Of Rs 20 Lakh Each To Victims' Kin

According to the investigation report, only 24 of the 36 deaths were confirmed to have been caused by consuming contaminated water. It is difficult to say with certainty whether the other 12 deaths were due to contaminated water or other health complications. The investigation committee has recommended that the families of those who died should be given a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each and the affected people should be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each.