Disposal Of Sewage & Industrial Waste Into Sabarmati River Has Harmed Aquatic Life: Gujarat HC Directs Authorities To Engage Stakeholders For Reutilisation Of Treated Industrial Wastewater

The Court said that the Joint Task Force, GPCB, AMCA and CETPs, all have to engage their energy to bring a positive solution so that the purity and sanctity of water of river Sabarmati can be maintained to achieve the standard of zero discharge of Industrial wastewater in the river Sabarmati.

The Court was hearing a Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation concerning the pollution in the Sabarmati River.

The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agrawal and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati observed, “We, therefore, issue directions to the GPCB, the Ahmedabad Mega Clean Association and 7 CETPs to engage all the stakeholders to workout the modalities in the direction of re-usability of industrial wastewater released by CETPs after treatment.”

Amicus Curiae Hemang M. Shah appeared for the Appellant and Senior Advocate Kamal B. Trivedi and Senior Advocate Devang Vyas appeared for the Respondents.

The Court said that the purity of water is compromised even after treatment of water. The Court observed, “The ground water or the river water supplied to the industry, which is pure in all other respect, remains impure even after treatment by the CETPs, not meeting the standards of the prescribed norms.”

The Court took note of the earlier order where it was observed that all the CEPTs should focus on the re-usability of water released by it after treatment and such water should be diverted back to the industries which may further process the same and thereafter use it in their units or directly use such water ensuring reusability of water.

While noting the earlier order where it was observed that the use of industrial wastewater for irrigation to grow vegetables, for almost three decades, has contaminated the soil with heavy metals the Court said, “The indiscriminate disposal of city’s sewage and industrial waste into the Sabarmati river has been turning the river into a cesspool of dangerous drug-resistant bacteria and toxic heavy metals that have contaminated sediments on the riverbed and harmed the aquatic life in the Sabarmati river.”

The Court, however, noted that no efforts seem to have been made by the CETPs in the matter of re-usability of industrial wastewater after treatment as suggested by the Joint Task Force.

Consequently, the Court gave directions to concerned authorities.

The Court posted the matter on August 30, 2024.