Kareena Eugene
On 20th April 2021, Tuesday, the Madras High Court directed the State Government to constitute a body of expert members to anticipate ways to tackle pollution of water bodies in Tamil Nadu.
A Bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilikumar Ramamoorthy, passed an order in a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) highlighting the issue of water pollution.
The order stated, “The State should constitute an expert body with persons having impeccable credentials in such regard to suggest appropriate measures whether to curb the extent of effluents discharged by the industry or to relocate industries that are close to the banks of flowing water bodies. A set of guidelines need to be formulated with appropriate checks and balances before all flowing water in the State turns poisonous. The State should take the matter seriously and invite the best minds to indicate how the quality of flowing water across the State can be preserved”.
The Court remarked that the State appeared to be quite clueless regarding this matter.
The Court emphasised that, “the pollution level in the flowing water has to be reduced to the extent possible, and that the State has a duty to introduce appropriate checks and balances to ensure that the dumping of effluents into any flowing water body, whether by any industry or local inhabitants, is completely prohibited if only to preserve the quality of the water for downstream users.“
The Bench added that, ‘it is also possible a polluted river would render the groundwater along its banks toxic, or at any rate, unfit for use for agriculture or otherwise’.
The Court, before adjourning the matter till after summer vacations said that, “In a State which depends primarily on flowing water and the damming of rainwater during the limited period that it gets rains, every endeavour should be made to ensure that the quality of the water is not compromised or adversely affected by the discharge of effluents or sewage or the like,”
The Chief Justice also observed that, “You should be able to tell us what is the cause for this pollution. Could be local people defecating, people throwing rubbish, other industries – but you have to identify that, educate people…We are not in a blame game over here. Please do what is necessary,” during the hearing on Tuesday.
The Chief Justice also emphasised on the need of experts in such situations.
While passing the order the Chief Justice remarked that the effort made is to preserve the environment for future generations as well, “This is not for you and me, it is for your children. (Otherwise) This is where they are going to live in a place, the air they will not be able to breathe, the water they will not be able to touch…something has to be done. We can’t leave the world so toxic that we breed the future only to poison them to death,”.