Lucknow, Oct. 31 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to expedite land allotment and financial approvals for setting up five water treatment plants (WTPs) in the state capital, observing that their establishment is essential.

A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed the order on October 28, 2026, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Utkarsh Lok Seva Sansthan in 2016. The issue of establishing the WTPs in Lucknow was raised in the plea in view of availability of pure drinking water.

During the hearing, the state government informed the court that a proposal seeking financial approval of Rs.231.52 crore for the proposed water trea...