Sangrur water pollution compliance, human rights water directive, Punjab water supply, drinking water quality, sewerage management, environmental governance India, health and sanitation, Water Pollution Act, urban infrastructure compliance, rights commission directive, safe drinking water, public health safeguards
The Punjab State and Chandigarh Human Rights Commission has directed the Punjab Department of Water Supply and Sanitation to investigate and address long-standing complaints about water pollution, sewerage overflow and unsafe drinking water in the Sangrur district, underscoring systemic gaps in basic service delivery and accountability.
The commission’s order, issued this week, came after repeated inaction by the department despite earlier directives, and highlights ongoing concerns over potable water quality affecting residents’ health and human rights. The case stems from a complaint filed in April 2025 alleging that sewerage systems were overflowing and that contaminated water was entering taps in several localities, leading to disease and unsafe drinking water conditions. A video circulated on social media purportedly showing black, polluted water emanating from household taps drew public attention and added urgency to the matter. The rights commission noted with concern that despite issuing orders in May and November of 2025 to the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation in Sangrur, no action report or communication detailing remedial steps had been received. In response, the commission escalated the issue to the principal secretary of the department, reinforcing administrative accountability and instructing a fresh review of lapses at the highest level.
By formally requiring a compliance report before the next scheduled hearing on April 21, 2026, the body has placed a clear onus on authorities to move beyond procedural responses and implement substantive improvements. This approach aligns with the constitutional recognition of clean water as a fundamental necessity and reflects growing judicial and quasi-judicial scrutiny over environmental governance and public health safeguards in India’s urban and semi-urban regions. The Sangrur directive highlights broader structural issues in water management systems where ageing sewerage networks, intermittent treatment infrastructure and under-resourced regulatory enforcement can converge to create unsafe conditions. Water pollution not only violates basic rights but also undermines public confidence in municipal and state agencies tasked with ensuring potable supplies. In contexts where contamination is alleged, residents often rely on legal recourse to catalyse action — an avenue that brings governance deficits into sharper relief.
Human rights advocates emphasise that access to clean drinking water is integral to public health and dignity, urging state departments to integrate more robust monitoring, real-time quality testing and community reporting mechanisms to detect and remediate pollution early. Moreover, transparent communication of action plans and timelines can help rebuild trust between authorities and affected communities, especially in districts where potable water challenges have persisted for years. Addressing Sangrur’s water quality issues will require coordinated investment not only in physical infrastructure — such as modernised sewerage treatment and safe supply lines — but also in institutional capacity to enforce compliance with environmental norms established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and related public health standards.
As the compliance deadline approaches, the department’s response will be closely watched by residents and environmental governance stakeholders alike. Effective implementation could serve as a model for other regions confronting similar water safety challenges, reinforcing the principle that human rights frameworks can be a powerful lever for bolstering essential services and protecting public health.
