India

Supreme Court Plea Demands Immediate Action on Railway Station Sanitation and Water Safety

By PTI

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court requesting the Centre and other authorities to take time‑bound corrective measures at railway stations to provide hygienic drinking water, emergency medical facilities, functional toilets, proper waste management and accessibility for passengers. The plea also seeks directions for comprehensive and periodic testing of all passenger drinking water sources at stations in line with prescribed standards. According to the court’s November 16 cause list, the case will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana. The petition calls for the respondents to undertake remedial actions promptly to ensure hygienic drinking water, cleanliness, sanitation, functional toilets, proper waste management, accessibility, emergency medical facilities and all minimum essential amenities to safeguard passengers’ health, safety, dignity and life. One prayer requests that the court issue a writ, order or direction directing the respondents to conduct comprehensive and periodic testing of all passenger drinking water sources for E. coli, total coliforms and other bacteriological and chemical parameters, and to immediately discontinue any unsafe or contaminated source while providing safe alternative drinking water until rectification and certification. The petition cites a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report tabled in Parliament in August, which identified E. coli in water coolers and unhygienic conditions in washrooms at several stations. It seeks a direction for the authorities to implement the CAG recommendations within definite timelines through station‑wise corrective action and an effective, transparent monitoring mechanism. The petition states that if deficiencies are not rectified within the prescribed time‑frame, responsibility and accountability should be assigned to the concerned officers with appropriate action in accordance with law. While the petition is pending, the petitioners ask that authorities immediately address deficiencies that directly affect passenger health and safety, particularly unsafe drinking water, sanitation and cleanliness, toilets, waste management and emergency medical preparedness.