Climate & Environment

Supreme Court Orders Rajasthan to Halt Industrial Discharges into Jojari River

By The Hindu

The Supreme Court has again criticized the Rajasthan government for allowing industrial effluents to flow into the Jojari river, posing a serious health risk to the local population. The issue dates back to a 2011 public interest litigation in the Rajasthan High Court, which highlighted state oversight failures. The Jojari, along with the Luni and Bandi rivers, are seasonal waterways in the state’s arid western region, passing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts. The area has become a hub for textile dyeing and steelworking, and untreated or inadequately treated factory effluents have entered the rivers and surrounding soil, threatening the health of roughly 20 lakh residents. Illegal sand mining also occurs in the riverbeds.

According to the state’s 2025 submissions to the Court, sewage treatment plants in the three urban centres can handle only about half of the sewage produced, and common effluent treatment plants are significantly underutilized. This suggests that industrial sources may be bypassing treatment facilities, that connections between sources and facilities are poor, or that capacity is insufficient at certain sites or times.

In 2025, the Court initiated a suo motu writ petition and formed a High‑Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha to audit the plants and develop a restoration plan. The committee’s reports led Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta to ban construction within 100 metres of the rivers’ banks and to prohibit hazardous industries within 500 metres of the current river paths or flood lines where available.

The Court has also criticized local authorities for not enforcing pollution norms, citing the Court’s own stay of a 2022 National Green Tribunal order that imposed compensation on the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation and local administrations in Jodhpur and Barmer. State officials were reportedly aware of illegal mining operations yet continued to regularize leases in those areas, indicating possible collusion between state officials and industrial interests. Justice Mehta noted that the state could be held liable under the ‘polluter pays’ principle, underscoring state negligence.

The Court emphasizes that Rajasthan must restore the Jojari and address its wellbeing, a move reflecting the Court’s tendency to step in as regulator rather than enforce existing regulations. This approach requires reassessment.

Published – October 28, 2026 12:10 am IST