The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Bihar government for its inability to provide potable drinking water in the states schools,a basic facility. If you cannot provide even drinking water in schools,what kind of a state are you running? a Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Deepak Verma asked the states counsel. Though it had set a deadline of May 31 for states to equip schools,especially those run by the government,with drinking water facility,the Bench said,along with Bihar,three more states UP,Orissa and J&K are yet to comply. The court said the chief secretaries of these states would have to be present during the next hearing unless they ensure that drinking water reaches all schools in their respective states. We direct chief secretaries to ensure potable drinking water reaches all schools by September 15,2011. They will have to remain present in case of non-compliance, the Bench said. It said the chief secretaries have to file affidavits in person within a week assuring compliance.
