Pollution in Jojari river: Appeals to be heard together, rules SC

The Supreme Court has said that pending appeals against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in a matter relating to pollution in Jojari river in Rajasthan should be heard together with a suo motu case over contamination of the river.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order in the suo motu case titled ‘In Re: 2 million lives at risk, contamination in Jojari river, Rajasthan’.

“Having considered the commonalities of issues which we propose to deal in the suo motu writ petition and the pending appeals, it would be expedient in the interest of justice to direct that these pending appeals... should be clubbed and heard together with the suo motu writ petition,” the bench said in its order passed on Thursday. It directed the apex court registry to place the papers before the Chief Justice of India for seeking direction of an analogous hearing for all these matters with the suo motu case.

The top court on September 16 took suo motu cognisance over the discharge of industrial waste in the river and said it was affecting hundreds of villages there.

In its order, the bench said it has holistically examined the materials provided to it and has researched for the orders which may have been passed in relation to the same issue. It said numerous writ petitions were filed in the Rajasthan High Court for the very same environmental issue, and these pleas were ultimately transferred to the NGT. The bench noted that a separate application was also filed before the NGT in respect of pollution in Jojari river.

“We may note that as per the topography of the area concerned, there are three rivers involved in this environmental disaster,” it said.

The bench noted that river Luni originates in the Aravali range at Ajmer and flows through districts Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer and then dissipates into the Rann of Kutch.

It said river Bandi is a tributary to river Luni and runs through districts Pali, Jodhpur and Barmer and ultimately joins river Luni. The bench noted river Jojari flows within the boundaries of district Jodhpur.

It said the NGT had constituted a Special Task Force (STF) in an endeavour to control the industrial pollution created by textile and steel industries in Jodhpur and textile industries of Balotra and Pali districts, which are adjoining Jodhpur district.