|
Supreme Court Closes 2021 Suo Motu on Polluted Rivers
The Supreme Court closed its 2021 suo motu proceedings on remediation of polluted rivers and transferred primary oversight to the National Green Tribunal. The Court also reiterated that the right to live in hygienic conditions and a clean environment forms part of Article 21.
River Pollution in India & Judicial Oversight:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Judicial Development | Supreme Court closed 2021 suo motu proceedings on polluted rivers and shifted oversight responsibility to the National Green Tribunal |
| Constitutional Principle | Right to live in hygienic conditions with human dignity and a clean environment forms part of Right to Life under Article 21 |
| Polluted River Stretch Definition | Defined as river stretches where Biochemical Oxygen Demand exceeds 3 mg per litre |
| BOD | Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic microorganisms to break down organic matter in water over a specific period |
| Status as per CPCB 2025 | 296 polluted river stretches on 271 rivers out of 645 rivers assessed across 32 States and Union Territories with highest number in Maharashtra at 54 |
| Examples of Polluted Rivers | Includes Yamuna in Delhi Sabarmati in Ahmedabad Chambal in Madhya Pradesh Tungabhadra in Karnataka and Sarabanga in Tamil Nadu |
| Major Sources of Pollution | Untreated sewage untreated industrial effluents municipal solid waste agricultural runoff sand mining and illegal encroachment |
| Sewage Discharge | More than 60 percent of untreated sewage water is released into rivers daily as per CPCB |
| Namami Gange Programme | Launched in 2014 and provides for cleaning and rejuvenation of river Ganga including wastewater treatment solid waste management and riverfront management |
| Yamuna Action Plan | Launched in 1993 and provides for cleaning the stretch of river Yamuna |
| National River Conservation Plan | Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented for abatement of pollution in identified river stretches excluding those in Ganga basin |
| Technology for Monitoring | LiDAR and drone survey are used to identify drains discharging into rivers |