Local bodies will be held responsible for the dumping of sewage into rivers, according to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
“Effective governance is the need of the hour. If pollution does not stop, the industry has to be stopped. If sewage dumping does not stop, local bodies have to be made accountable and the heads of local bodies are to be prosecuted,” said an order issued by the Bench headed by NGT chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel in December last.
The tribunal observed that sewage is also being directly dumped in rivers, contributing to river water pollution. “We direct the Pollution Control Boards of the various States as well as the Central Pollution Control Board and various governments to place before us the data and material with respect to various rivers in the States concerned, and what steps they are taking to curb the pollution in such rivers and management as to industrial effluents, sewage, garbage, waste and air pollution, including the water management,” it said.
It is essential to ensure that the domestic and industrial effluents are not allowed to be discharged into the water courses without adequate treatment as such discharges would render the water unsuitable as source of drinking water as well as for supporting marine life and for use in irrigation. Pollution of rivers and streams also caused increasing damage to the country’s economy, said the order.
