Suffering from pollution in the rivers of the country, the Supreme Court on Wednesday took the initiative to improve these rivers. The court has decided to start with the Yamuna river. A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice S Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramaniam has said that the time has come to improve the rivers getting contaminated with sewer water.
In fact, on the petition of Delhi Jal Board on the dangerous level of ammonia in Yamuna, the Supreme Court has taken automatic cognizance and decided to remove pollution of all rivers. Describing this issue as very important, the bench said that it does not only affect the general public but also all those animals which are dependent on ground water. The right to a clean environment and pollution-free water is protected under the right to live life.
It is often seen that either the sewer water is not treated or the treatment plants are not working properly. Therefore, it has become necessary for us to take automatic cognition.
Starting with the Yamuna river, the bench has issued notices to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh. Also, the bench has issued notice to the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Central Pollution Control Board.
The bench appointed senior advocate Meenakshi Arora as court advisor. The apex court has filed a report to the Pollution Board to identify those municipalities bordering the Yamuna where there is no sewer treatment plant as per requirement. The board has also been asked to explain what other sources of pollution are there.
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