Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Monday stressed that the government must establish and maintain reliable water supply systems to protect human dignity and uphold constitutional rights.
Speaking at the NHRC’s 33rd Foundation Day in New Delhi, Kant urged authorities to ensure safe, reliable and timely water supplies.
Kant urged the government to maintain reliable water systems and coordinate efforts to improve access.
He described water as essential to health, education, dignity and livelihoods. Unreliable supplies, he noted, disproportionately affect women who spend hours collecting water and farmers dependent on irrigation.
Kant praised wider rural tap-water access but urged authorities to ensure consistent, safe supplies.
“A mere tap is not the same as access to water. A pipe that runs dry cannot fulfil the promise that the pipe represents,” he said. He warned that arsenic, fluoride and other contaminants threatened public health.
The CJI said the right to life encompassed access to healthcare, food, shelter, livelihoods and a clean environment. Supreme Court jurisprudence has recognised pollution-free water and air as integral to this right.
He highlighted the roles of civil society and international institutions in identifying challenges, sharing scientific knowledge and strengthening cooperation.
“Water itself teaches us something consequential: it crosses boundaries. Our response to it must do the same,” he said.
Kant urged society to protect aquifers, rivers and drinking water sources for future generations. He said the water right carried responsibilities towards those yet to be born.
The NHRC marked its 33rd Foundation Day with a conference on “Water – The Elixir of Life”, highlighting water’s role in human dignity and rights.
NHRC Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian, members Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani and Priyank Kanoongo, and Secretary General Piyush Goyal attended. Other dignitaries were present.
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