1 2025:CGHC:25033-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPPIL No. 39 of 2024 1 - In The Matter Of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation Regarding On News Item Published In My City, Navbharat, Bilaspur, Dated 13th June 2024, As Gali Mohallo Ki Naliyan Kachare, Gandagi Se Bhari Padi Naliya Jaam, Barish Se Dubi Sadke. And 33 Kv Line Brake Down Hone Se Sudhar Karya Main Laga Samay, Log Heye Pareshan Bijali Line Me Hording Fansa, Ghanto Supply Band. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Chief Secretary, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Urban Administration And Development, Indrawati Bhawan Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, (C.G.) 3 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Revenue And Diaster Management Raipur (C.G.) 4 - Chairman C.S.P.D.C.L., State Of Chhattisgarh, Vidyut Sewa Bhawan, Dangniya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Managing Director (Distribution) Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited, Vidyut Sewa Bhawan, Dangniya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 6 - The Collector Bilaspur, District-Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 7 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 8 - Executive Engineer, C.S.P.D.C.L. Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, AMARDEEP CHOUBEY Digitally signed by AMARDEEP CHOUBEY Date: 2025.06.18 16:11:05 +0530 2 Chhattisgarh 9 - The Secretary Public Health Engineering Department, Raipur (C.G.) ... Respondents This is an office reference. For Respondent/State : Mr. Shashank Thakur, Dy.A.G. For Respondent/UOI ` ` : Mr. R.K. Mishra, D.S.G.I. For Respondent No.7 : Mr. Anadi Sharma, Advocate. For Respondent Nos.4,5 and 8 : Mr. Shyam Kumar, Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Bibhu Datta Guru, Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice 17.06.2025 1. In compliance of the Court order dated 29/05/2025, Mr. Vikram Sharma, Advocate, who has been appointed as Court Commissioner has filed his report which is reproduced hereunder:- 1) That this Hon'ble court has taken a Suo-moto cognizance on the news item published in newspaper Danik Bhaskar on 26.05.2025, reporting the presence of the arsenic in the groundwater of Village Kaudikasa near Amabagarh Chowki vide order dated 27.05.2025 has directed the Secretary Public Health Engineering Department to file his personal affidavit regarding a news item published in newspaper dated 26.05.2025. 2) That, the Secretary Public Health Engineering Department, State of Chhattisgarh has filed his personal affidavit on the aforesaid newspaper item on 28.05.2025, and for verifying the same, this Hon'ble Court has vide order dated 9.05.2025, appointed the undersigned as Commissioner to verify the facts stated in the affidavit. Court 3) That, the undersigned in compliance of the order of Hon'ble Court dated 29.05.2025 has visited the 3 Village Kaudikasa situated Near Ambagarh Chowki, at District Mohala Manpur Ambagarh Chowki on 06th June 2025 around 10.30 AM and visited various spots and locations mentioned in the affidavit and has obtained the Geo-Tagging Photographs of the site and also prepared the minutes of the said visit. 4) That, undersigned reached the office of Sub- Divisional Officer (PHE) at around 10.30 AM and met Shri Chhatrapal Dhruv who is working as Sub- Divisional Officer PHE, Sub-Division Amabagarh Chowki. Thereafter, the undersigned visited various spots as mentioned in the affidavit for the verification of the same alongwith the aforementioned officer and his team. The details of the site visit and the observation made by the undersigned about those site inspection is being submitted below for the ready hand reference of this Hon'ble Court:- i) Intake Well (Relevant para in affidavit Para No 7):-Time of Visit 10.55 AM As per the affidavit sworn by the Secretary PHE at para 7, it was stated that, after year 2017 as per the scheme of Commissioning of Arsenic Free Water, the filtering of river water, potable water is being supplied in the village, for verifying the said facts the undersigned visited the Intake Well as well as Water Treatment Plant constructed under the scheme for the said purpose. It is respectfully submitted that the undersigned conducted a site inspection of the Intake Well constructed on the riverbank of River Shivnath, situated at Bhiarikala Anicut, near Bazar Chowk. During the course of inspection, the undersigned captured geo-tagged photographs of the said site, which are annexed herewith and collectively marked as ANNEXURE D-1. It was also informed to the undersigned by the concerned officers that, the said Intake Well was constructed in the year 2017 under the Arsenic-Free Water Scheme, and forms an integral part of the filtration and water supply system established by the State Government under the said scheme. At the time of inspection, it was observed that the Intake Well is located in close proximity to the 4 riverbank and is fully operational. It was further noticed that water from River Shivnath is being extracted through two large-capacity pumps installed within the said Intake Well. Photographs depicting the pumping mechanism are annexed as ANNEXURE D-2 It is further submitted that the water so extracted is being conveyed to the Water Treatment and Filtration Plant, situated at a different location, through large pipelines specifically constructed for this purpose. Photographic evidence of the said pipelines is annexed hereto as ANNEXURE D-3/1 and ANNEXURE D-3/2 respectively. During the inspection, the undersigned also found one operator posted at the site, and engaged in the operation of the pumps. It is respectfully submitted that, that both pumps were in working condition at the time of inspection. Photographs of the site were duly taken and the observations were recorded in the Minutes of Inspection, which bear the signatures of the officials present at the time. ii) Water Treatment Plant (Relevant Para in Affidavit Para No 7):- Time of Visit 11.20 AM That the undersigned conducted an inspection of the Water Treatment Plant having a capacity of 3 Million Litres per Day (MLD), situated at College Road, Ambagarh Chowki. A photograph of the said plant is annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE D-4 It was informed to the undersigned by the officers present that, the said treatment plant is located at a distance of approximately 1 kilometre from the Intake Well near River Shivnath. The plant was constructed under the Arsenic-Free Water Scheme and has been operational since the year 2017. It was further informed that, this Water Treatment Plant is responsible for filtering raw water collected from the said Intake Well, which is conveyed through a dedicated pipeline system constructed specifically for this purpose. Upon filtration, the treated water is supplied to 23 villages, including Village Kaudikasa, and one Nagar Panchayat, namely Ambagarh Chowki. 5 It was further informed to the undersigned that, the treated water is stored in a Master Balancing Reservoir (MBR) constructed at the plant, with a storage capacity of 365 Kilolitres (KL). From the MBR, the potable water is transmitted to various villages and the Nagar Panchayat through a network of outlet pipelines. It was also brought to the notice of the undersigned that each village has its own Overhead Tank, where the filtered water is stored and subsequently distributed to individual households through distributary pipelines. At the time of inspection, the Water Treatment Plant was found to be functional and operational. It was observed that the raw water, after being drawn from the Raw Pump House, is received into the Inlet Chamber for further treatment. Photographs of the same are annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE D-5 and D-5/1. The Cascade Aerator, used for aeration of raw water, was also found to be installed and operational, functioning with the aid of a Flasher Mixer. Photographs showing the aeration process are annexed as ANNEXURE D-6/1 and D-6/2 It was further observed that the Clariflocculator installed at the site was fully operational and was performing the function of clarification, i.e., the removal of suspended solids from raw water. The photographs of the same are annexed as ANNEXURE D-6/3 The Filter House, wherein water is filtered through a chlorination process, was also found to be functional. Photographs of the Filter House are annexed as ANNEXURE D-6/4. Additionally, a laboratory was found to be constructed within the premises of the Water Treatment Plant. During the inspection, personnels were seen actively engaged in the testing of chlorine levels and other chemical parameters of water samples. Photographs evidencing are same the ANNEXURE D-6/5 and D-6/6. The undersigned also examined the logbooks maintained at the plant for the period from 04.06.2025 to 06.06.2025, which reflect the timings of Start and End of pump operations for the 6 Overhead Tanks Situated at Villages. Photographs of the relevant pages of the logbooks are annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-6/7 to ANNEXURE D- 6/119 It is further informed to the undersigned that, total manpower of 26 persons is involved in the function of plant operation which includes the manpower for operating overhead tanks also located at 23 Villages. iii) Primary Health Center located at Village Kaudikasa (Relevant Para in Affidavit Para No 11 & 13):- Time of Visit 12.30 PM That, in compliance with the affidavit sworn by the Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department (PHE), wherein it has been averred that health services are being rendered through the Primary Health Centre (PHC) situated at Village Kaudikasa, and in furtherance of the communication dated 26.05.2025 (Annexure A/2), which states that a health inspection of the said village was scheduled for 27.05.2025 to assess the prevailing health status of the residents, the undersigned undertook an inspection of the concerned location for the purpose of verification. The undersigned visited the PHC located at Village Kaudikasa and interacted with Dr. R.R. Dhruve, Block Medical Officer, Community Health Center (CHC), Ambagarh Chowki, and Dr. Hitesh Marshall, Medical Officer posted at the PHC, Village Kaudikasa. Photographs of the PHC premises are enclosed and annexed as ANNEXURE D-7. That, during the course of inspection, the undersigned interacted with local residents and patients present at the PHC and inquired whether any of them had recently suffered from health problems attributable to arsenic-contaminated water. No such instances or complaints were reported by the residents. Photographs evidencing the said interaction are annexed as ANNEXURE D-7/1 The undersigned further made a specific inquiry with 7 Dr. Hitesh Marshall regarding any newly reported cases of illnesses arising due to arsenic exposure. In response, Dr. Marshall stated that, as on date, no new cases of hydroarsenicism have been reported. He further informed that, subsequent to the publication of a news report concerning the issue, a team of medical professionals, including him, had conducted a visit to Village Kaudikasa, and it was found during such visit that the patients showing symptoms of hydroarsenicism were old cases, who have been suffering from the same for the past 35 to 40 years. The said statement of Dr. Marshall has been duly recorded in the Inspection Minutes with his signature for the kind perusal of this Hon'ble Court. That, when undersigned enquired regarding the inspection proposed to be held on 27.05.2025, as mentioned in the letter dated 26.05.2025, Dr. Hitesh Marshall submitted that the inspection had indeed been conducted and he produced a report dated 30.05.2025, prepared by the Block Medical Officer, CHC, Ambagarh Chowki, which runs into four pages containing the detailed data regarding patients affected by hydroarsenicism across the villages of Block Ambagarh Chowki, including Village Kaudikasa. It is informed by Dr Hitesh, that this list contains the details of the patients who are suffering from the problem, but these are the old cases and no new cases have been reported. The said report has been duly perused by the undersigned and geo-tagged photographs of the same have been taken on record. Copies of the said report are annexed as ANNEXURES D - 7/2 to D - 7/5 It is observed by the undersigned that, the report dated 30.05.2025 does not contain the date and periods from when the patients reported are suffering from the Hydroarsenicism. That, the undersigned further requested the Medical Officer to produce the OPD patient registers for the preceding three to four days, to verify whether any new cases of hydroarsenicism had been recorded therein. The OPD registers were accordingly 8 produced and upon inspection of entries dated 04.06.2025, 05.06.2025, and 06.06.2025, no symptoms or cases suggestive of hydroarsenicism were found. Photographs of the relevant register pages are annexed as ANNEXURES D - 7/6 to D - 7/8 That, upon conclusion of the inspection, the inspection minutes were read over to both Dr. Hitesh Marshall and Dr. R.R. Dhruve and the copy of the same was shown for their perusal and after reading the same, they have signed the inspection minutes which form part of the record for kind consideration of this Hon'ble Court. iv) Visit of Overhead Tanks and Borewells located at Village Kaudikasa (Relevant Paras in Affidavit Para No 6, 8, 9, 10 & 12):- Time of Visit 12.30 PM That, following was stated at Para No 6, 8, 10 & 12 of the affidavit sworn by the Secretary PHE which is reproduced below:- "6. It has been reported by the Executive Engineer that out of 19 borewells, 10 were found to have arsenic contaminated water and on such confirmation those hand pumps were capped/blocked and at that time arrangements for supply of arsenic free water was made by establishing arsenic removal plant through which the villagers of the village obtained potable water. 8. That, at present, there is regular electricity supply and villagers are being regularly supplied potable water. It is relevant to note that village Kaudikasa is situated at a distance of 8 kms. from the Block Headquarters on Mohalla Manpur Road Highway No. 24. 10. That, the requirement of water as per order dated 27/01/2020 is 65.19 litre per person per day and as such, the total requirement of water for the village would be 1,92,962 litre for which two elevated over head tanks of capacity of 50 and 60 kilo litres 9 each have been constructed and water is being regularly supplied through these. 12. It is further respectfully submitted that as the villagers are using the filtered water of the river, therefore, the arsenic removal plant established in the village is not in use." That for verifying the above facts stated in affidavit as reproduced above, undersigned visited the Village Kaudikasa and met the villagers and recorded the statement of few who are interested in sharing the same. The undersigned, Visited Ward No 9 to 11 of Village Kaudikasa, at around 1.15 PM and met with the local villagers residing there. The photographs of same is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8. The undersigned recorded the statement of the Villager known as Pannalal Mandavi having Aadhar Id 514461678629, residing in Village Kaudikasa itself. The copy of Aadhar card of Pannalal Mandavi for ready hand reference of this Hon'ble Court is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/1. The statement of Pannalal with his signature is part of Inspection Minutes. That the undersigned was informed by the Pannalal Mandavi and other local villagers present during my visit that, at present they are using the water provided through House Connection by the State Government. It was informed by them that, earlier there were two borewell located at there ward No 9 to 11, which contains the Arsenic Contents. However, that borewell was closed by the State Government after getting to know about the same. They further informed that at present there is no Borewell operating in their villages and they completely depend upon the supply of water provided through State Government. The undersigned visited two borewell located at ward no 9 to 11 at Village Kaudikasa, and found both of them as permanently capped. The photographs of two borewells situated at Village Kaudikasa, Bazar Chowk, with Latitude 20.71929 and Longitude 80.735847 captured at 1.12 PM on 06.06.2025 as 10 well as with Latitude 20.719776 and Longitude 80.736947 captured at 1.15 PM on 06.06.2025 is respectively annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/2 & ANNEXURE D-8/3 respectively. That, the undersigned also visited other eight Borewells as reported in the affidavit for the purpose of verification, whether it is closed or not and it is found by the undersigned that, all of the eight remaining Borewells are capped. However, out of eight capped borewells, the photographs of two of the borewell cannot be captured for the reason that, after capping of the same, some other civil structure over the same has been constructed, which is made it impossible for locating the capped borewell. The photographs of capped borewells situated at Muleti Tola having Latitude 20.717776 & Longitude 80.73771 captured at 01.39 PM on 06.06.2025 as well as situated at Muleti Tola having Latitude 20.718181 & Longitude 80.737332 captured at 01.40 PM on 06.06.2025 is annexed as ANNEXURE D-8/4 & ANNEXURE D-8/5 respectively. The photographs of other capped borewells located at Kaudikasa, Main Road with Latitude of 20.720888 & Longitude of 80.735233 captured at 01.43 PM on 06.06.2025 as well as located at Kaudikasa, Main Road with Latitude of 20.720826 & Longitude of 80.735089 captured at 01.43 PM on 06.06.2025 as well as located at Kaudikasa, Main Road with Latitude of 20.720858 & Longitude of 80.7350005 captured at 01.44 PM on 06.06.2025 is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/6. ANNEXURE D-8/7 as well as ANNEXURE D-8/8 respectively. That one capped borewell is located at Rajnandgaon having latitude 20.725 & longitude 80.732752 captured at 01.48 PM on 06.06.2025 and photograph of the same is annexed for ready hand reference of this Hon'ble Court as ANNEXURE D- 8/9. That, undersigned observed that as stated in the affidavit all ten borewells had indeed been found capped. However, photographs could not be taken of two borewells as civil structures had subsequently been constructed over them, making them untraceable visually. 11 That, undersigned also visited the borewells situated at Village which are operational and which does not contain arsenic water, for ready hand reference the photographs of some of the borewells located at Kaudikasa Main Road with latitude of 20.721102 & longitude of 80.73525 captured at 01.42 PM on 06.06.2025 as well as located at Muleti Tola with latitude of 20.72286 & longitude of 80.73376 captured at 01.45 PM on 06.06.2025 as well as located at Rajnandgaon with latitude of 20.723792 & longitude of 80.732868 captured at 01.47 PM on 06.06.2025 and located at Muleti Tola with latitude of 20.724998 & longitude of 80.728846 captured at 01.52 PM on 06.06.2025 are hereby annexed respectively as ANNEXURE D-8/10, D-8/11, D-8/12 & D-8/13. The undersigned also visited overhead tanks for verifying the factual position with regard to the same, and it is found by the undersigned that one of the Overhead Tank is located at Muleti Tola, with latitude 20.720026 & longitude 80.733004. It is observed by the undersigned that, the overhead tank is in operation and functional, and the Chlorination Room was also constructed besides the Overhead Tank. It is further observed by the undersigned that, one operator was present there who was entrusted with the function of on and off of pump located there. The photographs of the overhead tank located at Muleti Tola, with latitude 20.720026 & longitude 80.733004 captured at 01.55 PM alongwith the Chlorination Room located besides the same is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/14 & ANNEXURE D- 8/15 respectively. During the inspection of the overhead tank by the undersigned two villagers present there namely Anis Puri Goswami as well as Rajkumar Dhruv recorded their statements which forms part of the inspection minutes. The inspection of overhead tank was carried out by me in presence of the officers of the PHE including the Executive Engineer Shri Mahesh Sahu and SDO PHE Chhatrapal Dhruw. It is pertinent to state that, the name of Anis Puri Goswami found mentioned in the news item which forms the basis for this suo-moto cognizance. 12 That, the undersigned was informed by the Villager Anis Puri Goswami about the fact that, the State Government after coming to know about the presence of the Arsenic in ground water, has constructed the Arsenic Removal Plant as well as Filter Plant, however the same remained unsuccessful. It was further informed by him, various representation by made by them to the State Government, for providing the water through River Shivnath, and the request was accepted by the State Government and they have connected 24 villages with the said scheme, irrespective of the fact, those villages have no traces of arsenic water, because of which our village does not have regular supply of potable water, and the water which is supplied is also contained impurities and bad odour. And because of that, we have established private bores in the village and forced to drink the water from the same. The undersigned taken the statement of the aforementioned person on record with his signature, the original which is produced before this Hon'ble Court for ready hand reference. The Aadhar Card of the same is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/16. That, another Villager Rajkumar Dhruv with his Aadhar Id 605241375499 has informed the undersigned that, he is resident of Village Kaudikasa and is suffering from arsenic related problem, and he came to know about the same when his body developed white and black spot in between 1994 & 1995 The undersigned also visited second overhead tank situated at Kaudikasa, Manpur Road, Mohala having latitude 20.717175 & longitude 80.736626. It was found by the undersigned that, the water head tank is operational and functional, and a pump was installed near the water head tank. The photographs of the overhead tank alongwith pump located at there is being annexed as ANNEXURE D-8/17 & D- 8/18 The undersigned also visited the Ground Water Arsenic Removal Plant located at Kaudikasa, Manpur Road Mohala, with latitude of 20.717174 & 13 longitude of 80.73677, which is situated beside the overhead tank stated above, and it is found by the undersigned that, the same is not functional and operational as stated in the affidavit. The photographs of the same is being annexed herewith as ANNEXURE D-8/19. Conclusion and Final Observation 1. Status of Contaminated Borewells:- It is respectfully submitted that, as per the physical verification conducted by the undersigned, all ten (10) borewells which were earlier reported to be contaminated with arsenic have been found to be permanently capped/sealed. Out of these, photographic evidence of eight (08) borewells has been captured and placed on record. In respect of the remaining two borewells, the same could not be photographed due to subsequent construction of civil structures over them, however, the capping of such borewells was duly verified at site. 2. Supply of Potable Water:- It is found that water is being supplied to the villagers through household tap connections connected to the elevated overhead tanks, as stated in the affidavit. The villagers have confirmed that they are receiving water through these connections. However, a few of the residents have raised concerns regarding the intermittent nature of supply and presence of odour/impurities in the supplied water on certain occasions. 3. Functioning of Overhead Tanks:- The two overhead tanks constructed for the purpose of water supply, one located at Muleti Tola and the other at Kaudikasa-Manpur Road, were inspected and found to be functional and in use. Chlorination infrastructure was also observed to be constructed alongside the overhead tanks. The presence of a pump operator at the site was noted, and statements of residents and PHE officials present during the inspection were duly recorded. 14 4. Arsenic Removal Plant:- The arsenic removal plant located adjacent to the overhead tank at Kaudikasa-Manpur Road was physically inspected and found to be non- operational, in line with the disclosure made in paragraph 12 of the affidavit. The villagers also confirmed that the plant has not been in use and has remained non-functional for a considerable period. 5. Villagers Grievances and Statements records During the inspection, statements of Villagers Pannalal Dhruw, Anis Puri Goswami and Shri Rajkumar Dhruv were recorded which forms part of record and is annexed herewith as part of proceedings for ready hand reference of Hon'ble Court. 6. Health Concern From the interactions with the local population and medical personnel, it is found that no new cases of arsenic-related ailments have been recently reported. however, old cases of hydroarsenicism still persist. Overall Finding:- In view of the above, the undersigned respectfully submits that the assertions made in the affidavit dated 28.05.2025 filed by the Secretary, PHE Department, have been largely corroborated through field verification conducted by the undersigned. The undersigned submits before this Hon'ble Court the original handwritten minutes of the inspection conducted on 06.06.2025, comprising eight pages, duly numbered from 1 to 8. The said minutes bear the signatures of the villagers and the officials who have recorded their statements during the course of the inspection. For the kind perusal and ready reference of this Hon'ble Court, the same is annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE D-9. 15 2. From perusal of the report submitted by the Court Commissioner, would show that each village has its own Overhead Tank, where the filtered water is stored and subsequently distributed to individual households through distributary pipelines. 3. In view of the above report submitted by the Court Commissioner, the writ petition is disposed of. However, the Secretary to the Government of Chhattisgarh, Department of Public Health Engineering (PHE) would ensure that the regular water supply is to be made to the villagers. SD/- SD/- (Bibhu Datta Guru) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice Gowri/ Amardeep