Mumbai (The Hindu): The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to stay the first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and asked the State government and the BMC to conduct an inquiry into the source of water used by cricket stadiums in the state.

A Division Bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice MS Karnik was hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO Loksatta Movement, which states that 60 lakh litres of water is being wasted for maintaining pitches for the IPL at a time when the state is facing its worst drought. Aside from Mumbai, which is facing 15-25 per cent water cuts, the state will host IPL matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune and the Vidharbha Cricket Association at Nagpur.

The advocate appearing for the NGO said the water crisis is deepening.

Senior counsel Rafiq Dada appearing for the BCCI told the court that cricket pitches are not watered a day before and on the day of the match. “Various cricket associations have said that they use harvested rainwater and underground water for the pitches at the stadiums.”

Underlining the need for cricket administrators to water the pitches, Mr Dada said, “If cricket associations are stopped from using water, will the water be transported to Latur?” He also said the municipal officials had taken measures to ensure that there is adequate water level in Mumbai.

The court said, “We want to know what the State is doing about it and whether water supplied is from the municipal corporation or is being recycled.”

Acting Advocate General Rohit Deo said that Mumbai uses 3,700 million litres of water per day, and after the water is treated, 4,000 million litres is legally allotted.

He said 22,000 litres is supplied to the stadiums every day. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had chaired a meeting on the issue, and had opined that drinking water should not be used at the stadiums.”

The judges said, “There is so much disparity where the rich can get water because they have money and the others can’t. We cannot understand this anomaly.” The court asked the government whether it has a contingency plan and exclaimed, “God forbid, if it does not rain this monsoon.” It also asked whether the State has considered getting water from other States.

The AG said that the State not only has an emergency plan for the coming months, but also has micro-level planning to tackle the crisis.

The court asked the State to file an affidavit on its policy on water management. It also said it is not a question of one IPL match, it is about the acute shortage of water, and asked the State if it proposes to impose restrictions on weddings and receptions to take place in April and May.

The court posted the matter to April 12.

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