‘Unbelievable suffering’: SC pulls up Rajasthan over Jojari river pollution

The Supreme Court said the common effluent treatment plant was being bypassed to directly discharge industrial waste into Jojari river

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Rajasthan government for the complicity of its officials in allowing industrial waste to directly flow into the Jojari river, a lifeline for 2 million people, and underlined that the suffering of people due to this negligence was “unbelievable”.

(FILE)

“We will go beyond this case. We find that what is happening there on the ground is alarming. The common effluent treatment plant (CETP) is being bypassed to directly discharge industrial waste into the river,” a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said.

The court had earlier taken cognisance of the pollution in the river, which flows through the Jodhpur, Pali and Balotra regions in Rajasthan. On Monday, the bench stated that it would issue orders on Friday.

The Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Limited (RIICO), the municipal councils of Pali and Balotra and the Jodhpur municipal body had approached the top court following a February 2022 order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on petitions filed by local residents.

In its verdict, NGT directed stringent timelines for zero liquid discharge compliance, closure of violating industries, and remediation plans involving pollution control boards. NGT also indicted the state for colluding with industrial units and imposed a fine of ₹2 crore for failing to protect the river.

The state’s appeal against the NGT order is being heard by the court along with a suo motu case about the pollution in the river.

On November 7, the top court asked the state government whether it was still interested in pursuing the appeal.

Rajasthan’s additional advocate general (AAG) Shiv Mangal Sharma, while the state has introduced short-term and long-term measures for cleaning up the river, the state was of the view that the remarks made by NGT, along with the deposit of the cost, should be stayed.

“There is an abject failure of the state to contain pollution in the river which is posing risk to the lives of 2 million people. The suffering of the people is unbelievable. There is connivance with officials. We are not interfering with those observations. You must also deposit the cost,” the bench said.

Sharma submitted a status report on behalf of the state government, which said the polluting industrial units should pay for causing environmental damage according to the polluter pays principle. It said the units had been shut down after recent inspections found that industrial waste was directly flowing into the river.

“We will go beyond this matter,” said the bench as it reserved the matter for orders to be passed on Friday.

The Jojari, an 83-km seasonal tributary of the Luni river, originates in Nagaur district and flows southwest into Jodhpur. Over the years, however, it has turned into a drain for untreated waste from Boranada’s textile and chemical industries as well as domestic sewage.