CONSTITUTION OF INDIA – ARTS. 21, 48-A, 47, 51-A(g) – RIGHT TO LIFE – RIGHT TO HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT – POLLUTED RIVER SYSTEM – DIRECT CONSTITUTIONAL INJURY Severe contamination of rivers Jojari, Bandi and Luni by untreated industrial effluents and municipal sewage over nearly two decades, affecting about 2 million people, livestock and riverine ecology, held to constitute a direct constitutional injury. Art. 21 includes right to live in pollution-free, clean and healthy environment; environmental degradation on this scale “dilutes the very substance of the right to life”, reducing it to a “fragile abstraction”. State’s failure to prevent and control pollution is a gross dereliction of its constitutional obligation to secure conditions of life with dignity, safety and well-being. (Paras 1–3, 10–15, 16–19, 28)

1. CONSTITUTION OF INDIA – ARTS. 21, 48-A, 47, 51-A(g) – RIGHT TO LIFE – RIGHT TO HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT – POLLUTED RIVER SYSTEM – DIRECT CONSTITUTIONAL INJURY

Severe contamination of rivers Jojari, Bandi and Luni by untreated industrial effluents and municipal sewage over nearly two decades, affecting about 2 million people, livestock and riverine ecology, held to constitute a direct constitutional injury.
Art. 21 includes right to live in pollution-free, clean and healthy environment; environmental degradation on this scale “dilutes the very substance of the right to life”, reducing it to a “fragile abstraction”. State’s failure to prevent and control pollution is a gross dereliction of its constitutional obligation to secure conditions of life with dignity, safety and well-being. (Paras 1–3, 10–15, 16–19, 28)

2. ENVIRONMENT LAW – WATER POLLUTION – RIVER SYSTEM – LONG-TERM SYSTEMIC FAILURE – REGULATORY APATHY – STAY ORDER NOT A LICENCE TO DO NOTHING

Record reveals sustained, systemic collapse of regulatory vigilance and “utter administrative apathy” over nearly two decades, despite repeated proceedings before High Court and NGT, Justice P.C. Tatia Committee reports and statutory framework.
Interim stay by Supreme Court on NGT’s order could not justify inaction; State could have continued to check flow of untreated effluents. Stay was used as an excuse to sit idle and allow devastation to continue unabated. Post–suo motu “flurry” of activity held to touch “only the tip of the iceberg”. (Paras 2, 8–9, 17–19, 18)

3. CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE – RIGHT TO POLLUTION-FREE ENVIRONMENT – PRECEDENTS REITERATED

Court re-affirms that:

• Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, (1991) 1 SCC 598 – Art. 21 includes right to enjoyment of pollution-free water and air; citizen may invoke Art. 32 when environmental degradation threatens quality of life.

• Virender Gaur v. State of Haryana, (1995) 2 SCC 577 – Hygienic environment is integral facet of right to healthy life; environmental pollution amounts to violation of Art. 21; State and municipalities under a constitutional imperative to safeguard, protect and improve environment.

• M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, (2000) 6 SCC 213 – Arts. 48-A and 51-A(g) must be read with Art. 21; disturbance of basic environmental elements (air, water, soil) is hazardous to life.

• A.P. Pollution Control Board II v. Prof. M.V. Nayudu, (2001) 2 SCC 62 – Right to healthy environment is part of Art. 21; environmental rights recognised as “third generation” rights.

These decisions together establish that environmental protection is not an administrative option but a constitutional imperative; courts must intervene where the State fails. (Paras 11–15)

4. NGT ACT, 2010 – WATER ACT, 1974 – INTERIM STAY ON NGT FINAL ORDER – MODIFICATION / CLARIFICATION – REMEDIAL DIRECTIONS REVIVED

NGT Principal Bench’s final order dated 25-02-2022, based on Justice P.C. Tatia Committee’s detailed fact-finding and common reports (20-04-2021, 22-07-2021), contained a remedial and regulatory framework for controlling pollution in Jojari, Bandi and Luni.
Supreme Court’s prior interim stay on that order had been misinterpreted as freezing implementation of remedial measures, permitting continued pollution. Considering continuing ecological harm, Court holds continuance of broad stay untenable and contrary to statutory purpose of NGT Act and Water Act.

Held:
– Interim stay on NGT order dated 25-02-2022 modified and clarified.
– All substantive remedial, regulatory and preventive directions in NGT order are to be implemented in full, without impediment.
– Stay to continue only as regards: (i) remarks against RIICO and other authorities/Corporations; (ii) direction imposing environmental compensation of ₹2 crores on them – these aspects kept under consideration to be examined later. (Paras 20–21, 62(A)–(B))

5. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE – HIGH-LEVEL ECOSYSTEM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE – COMPOSITION, POWERS AND MANDATE

Given scale of harm, prolonged inaction and technical complexity, Court constitutes “High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee”, to act as fact-finding, monitoring and implementation body.

Composition includes:
– Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sangeet Lodha, Retd. Judge, Rajasthan High Court – Chairperson;
– Advocate Pankaj Sharma to assist Chairperson;
– Technical expert (water management / pollution control / environmental engineering) to be nominated by Chairperson;
– Additional Chief Secretary (Environment & Climate Change);
– Joint Secretaries of Urban Development & Housing and Local Self Government;
– Member Secretary, CPCB;
– Member Secretary, RSPCB;
– Managing Director, RIICO;
– Director, RUIDP;
– District Collectors of Jodhpur, Pali and Balotra. (Paras 22, 46–48)

Committee to:

• Oversee full, faithful and time-bound implementation of NGT’s 25-02-2022 order;

• Prepare scientifically grounded, time-bound River Restoration and Rejuvenation Blueprint for Jojari–Bandi–Luni system (soil and groundwater remediation, ecological restoration, flora/fauna revival, prevention of future contamination, long-term monitoring);

• Map all legal and illegal discharge points, check SCADA-based metering, ensure no mixing of CETP-treated effluent with untreated sewage or stormwater;

• Supervise audits, surprise checks, performance audits of CETPs, STPs, oxidation ponds, drainage, industrial primary treatment, and ensure prompt rectification;

• Evaluate and operationalise action plans and technical reports prepared by IIT Jodhpur, MNIT Jaipur, MBM Engineering College, BITS Pilani and other institutions;

• Assess treatment capacity vs actual discharge and propose infrastructural augmentation (new/upgraded CETPs/STPs, pipelines, ZLD, integrated waste management);

• Identify non-compliant officials, authorities and industries, recommend disciplinary action/prosecution and application of Polluter Pays;

• Ensure quarterly water-quality data disclosure and structured engagement with Gram Panchayats and affected communities;

• Call for records, issue directions, seek assistance of national expert bodies including CSIR–NEERI, and address all incidental/ancillary matters. (Paras 23–24, 49–58, 62(C)–(H))

6. ADMINISTRATIVE & FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS – POLLUTER PAYS – COST OF COMMITTEE RECOVERABLE FROM ERRING OFFICIALS/INDUSTRIES

State of Rajasthan directed to provide full secretarial, technical and logistical support to Committee: RAS officer as Registrar/Nodal Officer, staff, office infrastructure (preferably Circuit House, Jodhpur), video-conferencing, security and transport.

Honorarium fixed at ₹5,00,000 per month for Chairperson and ₹1,00,000 per month for assisting lawyer; TA comparable to sitting High Court Judge for Chairperson; fixed TA per inspection for lawyer.

All expenditure on Committee’s functioning – honorarium, professional, operational and ancillary expenses – is to be borne by State in the first instance but is recoverable from erring officials/departments and from industries/industrial units responsible for violations leading to river pollution, reflecting application of Polluter Pays principle. (Paras 25–26, 61)

7. DIRECTIONS – REPORTING & COMPLIANCE – PERIODIC STATUS REPORTS

High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee to:

• Commence functioning at the earliest;

• Prepare comprehensive Blueprint and phased implementation plan;

• Map discharge points and file interim/detailed reports;

• Conduct recurring audits at intervals not exceeding three months and specify compliance benchmarks;

• Receive all technical plans, action documents and audits from expert institutions directly;

• Ensure strict adherence by authorities and industrial units.

Committee to submit its first status report within eight weeks and thereafter every eight weeks until further orders. All State authorities, RIICO, RSPCB, municipal/local bodies, district administrations, individual units and associations must extend full cooperation, failing which personal accountability before Court may follow. (Paras 24, 62(C)–(J), 30)

8. JUDICIAL ROLE – SUO MOTU POWERS – DUTY TO PROTECT ART. 21

Proceedings initiated suo motu on the basis of investigative documentary “2 Million Lives at Risk | India’s Deadliest River | Marudhara | Jojari | Rajasthan” exposing environmental catastrophe and public health crisis.

Court holds that directions issued are not merely administrative, but flow from its constitutional duty under Art. 21 to safeguard rights to clean water, unpolluted air, healthy environment and dignified existence for millions in the region. Remedial framework of NGT, strengthened by oversight mechanism under this order, must be implemented with urgency, fidelity and resolve, to protect present and future generations. (Paras 4–7, 20, 27–28)