Umamageswari Maruthappan
The Supreme Court of India had asked for the submission of the status report from the River Yamuna Monitoring Committee.
The Apex Court has also sought details regarding its recommendations for improving the quality of the river as well as the extent to which the concerned states have implemented those recommendations.
The Committee was set up by the National Green Tribunal on 26th July 2018 which comprises former Delhi Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra as the lead among other members.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde and Justices L Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran took the matter as “suo moto” on 13th January 2021 following a petition, tilted “Remediation of polluted rivers” was filed by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
The Board, represented by Advocate Shadan Farasat requested the Apex Court’s intervention for preventing Haryana Government from discharging pollutants into the Yamuna River which led to increase in ammonia levels.
The Court’s decision to take cognizance of the Yamuna River issue with a view to safeguard the Right to health enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
“Deterioration of quality of fresh water has a direct correlation with the quality of public health. It is an acknowledged fact that pollution of water supplies by sewage effluents has been and still is a major cause of variety of disease and discomforts,” the Court observed.
The Court also appointed Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora to be Amicus Curiae in the matter.
On 19th January 2021, during the hearing of the case, Adv. Meenakshi Arora stated that the ammonia levels are under control and also lauded the Haryana Government for its work.
Adv. Arora had also remarked the involvement of the NGT Monitoring Committee in this case. “NGT has also appointed a river-monitoring committee for Yamuna river”, Arora stated.
Following her request to seek a report from the Committee, the Apex Court had ordered for the same.
With regards to the PIL filed by DJB, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan representing Haryana argued the plea itself is “not maintainable” and that the main problem for Yamuna water pollution comes from Delhi and not Haryana.
The CJI assured Adv. Shyam that no order will be passed until a counterplea is file by the Delhi Jal Board.
The Bench also issued notice for response from the States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh along with Haryana and Delhi.