What is in news : The Gujarat High Court has reprimanded the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) for the pollution on the Sabarmati riverfront

About :

• Gujarat’s Sabarmati river remains highly polluted
• Centre had allocated₹200 crore that the to curb pollution in the river from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
• Gujarat high court has intervened
• The High Court
  • Amonished that officials accountable for the functioning of laboratories in sewage treatment plants (STP), who failed to keep a check on polluted water dumped into the riverfront, will be “dealt with strictly”.
  • Observed that the root cause of pollution in the Sabarmati was the lack of accountability on part of the authorities, as there appears to be a nexus between the officials and industries that discharge untreated effluents into the river stream, polluting its water.
  • Has also constituted a joint task force (JTF), which submitted its report highlighting the failures of STPs and effluent treatment plants. The JTF brought out systemic flaws in the running of STPs.
  • Has learnt that the laboratories inside STPs across the city, which were supposed to keep a check on the water dumped into the Sabarmati river, were almost non-functional. The JTF and the Amicus Curiae Hemang Shah submitted that the Sabarmati riverfront was in poor state due to the “legal” as well as the illegal release of untreated industrial effluents and sewage water in Ahmedabad city.

The High Court order:

• Industrial units found to have discharged pollutants into the Sabarmati river in Gujarat will not be provided water and power.
• They will also be penalised, named and shamed.
• All such polluting units will also be banned from participating in any industrial fair, public-private partnership events, etc.

Need of the hour:

• Rivers are our lifeline since we are completely dependent on them for our existence. The major reason behind this alarming situation is our utter ignorance and carefree attitude towards our environment and maintaining rivers and riversides.
• So, it is high time that we take some stringent actions in this regard.
• Each and every individual should understand that rivers belong to all of us.
• It is a joint responsibility of each and every individual to keep them clean.

About Sabarmati river : Originating from the Aravalli hills in neighbouring Rajasthan, the Sabarmati meets the Arabian Sea in the Gulf of Khambhat area, after traversing a distance of 371 km, passing through districts like Udaipur in Rajasthan, and Aravalli, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Kheda in Gujarat. It has a total catchment area of 21,674 sq. km