Climate & Environment

NGT Targets Tirunelveli Collector Over Threats to Tamirabharani Fish

By B. Kolappan

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi has issued a notice to the Tirunelveli Collector and five others concerning threats to fish species in the Tamirabharani River caused by pollution and habitat loss. Acting on a report titled “Tamirabharani’s Endemic Fish Face Threats From Pollution, Habitat Loss” that appeared in The Hindu on September 28, the Bench—composed of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, A. Senthil Vel, and Afroz Ahamed—ordered that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the Central Pollution Control Board’s Regional Office in Chennai, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and the Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Centre (ACCC) be impleaded as respondents along with the Collector. The order states that the matter falls under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and raises substantial environmental questions under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. The Registry was instructed to schedule the case before the Southern Bench of the Tribunal in Chennai on January 22, 2027, as the cause of action lies within its jurisdiction. Respondents must file their replies at least one day before the hearing. The Hindu reported that 125 fish species have been identified in the river’s upstream, midstream, and lower estuarine sections, seven of which are endemic to the Tamirabharani. Factors contributing to the decline in fish populations include pollution, habitat destruction, loss of riparian vegetation, invasive fish and aquatic plants, use of soaps and shampoos by bathers, rituals on the banks, dumping of puja materials and clothes, and discharge of untreated sewage. Published – November 07, 2026 10:30 pm IST