Jharkhand fined for failing to curb pollution in Damodar river

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), a statutory body that deals with environmental cases, has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Jharkhand government for not taking adequate measures to prevent and control the pollution in the Damodar river, a tributary of the Ganga river. The NGT also gave four more weeks to the district magistrates of the Ganga basin districts in the state to submit their status reports on the pollution issue.

The NGT order came on February 20, 2024, in response to a petition filed by M.C. Mehta, a renowned environmental lawyer and activist, who had sought the tribunal’s intervention to protect the Ganga and its tributaries from industrial and urban effluents. Mehta had also demanded that the district magistrates, who are the heads of the district Ganga protection committees, be held accountable for the pollution under the principle of polluter pays.

The NGT had earlier summoned the status reports from the district magistrates of the Ganga states, including Jharkhand, on November 24, 2023 and December 5, 2023, but did not receive any reply from the Jharkhand officials. The NGT chairperson, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, expressed his displeasure over the non-compliance and lack of communication from the Jharkhand government and its officials.

“It is unfortunate that despite the repeated opportunities, district magistrates are not responding to either the order of the tribunal or the communication sent by the chief secretary. At this stage, we are taking a lenient view and imposing the token cost of Rs 25,000 which is to be deposited by the state of Jharkhand within one week and it will be open to the state to recover this amount from the defaulting district magistrates and report it to the tribunal,” the NGT bench said.

The NGT also noted the points raised by Mehta regarding the pollution in the Damodar river, which flows through 14 districts of Jharkhand before joining the Hooghly river in West Bengal. The Damodar river is one of the most polluted rivers in India, due to the discharge of industrial waste and sewage from coal mines, power plants, steel factories, and urban settlements along its course. The pollution has adversely affected the water quality, aquatic life, and public health of the people living in the river basin.

The NGT directed the district magistrates of the Damodar river basin to file their status reports on the pollution issue within four weeks, in the manner prescribed by the tribunal. The NGT also asked the Jharkhand Pollution Control Board to monitor the compliance of the environmental norms and standards by the industries and municipalities in the river basin and to take appropriate action against the violators.

The next hearing of the case will be on April 10, 2024.

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