The Supreme Court today acknowledged the problem of lack of potable water arrangement at public places but expressed its constraint to fix the problem across the country.

The apex court said it "sympathises" with the petitioner for bringing a "genuine" cause before it but maintained that the scope of the petition was so large that it cannot monitor whole of the country sitting from the national capital.

"The scope of the writ petition is genuine. However, it is so wide that it is not possible for the Supreme Court to monitor the cause. We sympathise with the petitioner," a Bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar said.

The Bench, however, gave liberty to the petitioner to approach the concerned High Courts by citing the instances for the redressal of the grievances raised in the PIL.

"Whatever issues raised by the petitioner can be raised at the High Court. The petitioner is at liberty to bring it to the notice of the concerned High Courts," the Bench said while disposing a PIL in this regard.

The petition, filed by social organisation 'Voice of India' through its office bearer Dhanesh Ieshdhan, had sought direction to the Centre and state governments to make arrangements for potable drinking water free of cost at designated public places across the country.

Pointing at the "acute and vexatious" problem of non-availability of drinking water at public places, the petitioner sought intervention of the apex court saying that governments were spending billions of rupees for various construction projects but "nothing" was being done to quench the "unbearable thirst" of public free of cost.

The petitioner had claimed that despite innumerable representations before concerned authorities regarding "injurious and deceiving practice" of allowing vendors of water trolleys to sell "unhygienic water" across Delhi, no action was taken by the government.

"The prevailing sloven and defective provision with regard to sale of water since long on roads of NCR and other numerous places of public importance through water trolleys, which are being operated by license holders under the care of MCD and NDMC, needed to be looked into," the petition said.

Referring to a letter sent by the MCD in response to his representation, the petitioner claimed the communication substantiated his claims as to how the civic bodies manage the public affairs with a "blind eye" and present themselves as if they do not have knowledge about the "ongoing malpractice".

The petition had said the absence of public utility providing potable drinking water at public places was violative of the fundamental rights of citizens of India guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.