Jojari river pollution: Tribunal imposes Rs 10 lakh cost on state government

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the Government of Rajasthan for not controlling pollution in river Jojari despite its commitments/assurances made to the tribunal.

The aforesaid order was passed in OA 329 of 2015 filed by Gram Panchayat Araba Village, Barmer which was listed on Tuesday before the Chairman’s bench comprising Justice U D Salvi and Dr. N. Nanda, expert member.

The river Jojari was a seasonal river and carried only the excess rainwater, and ended downstream, now due to continuous release of almost 90 MLD of untreated sewage and untreated industrial effluent and release of treated water from Jodhpur has been flowing and carrying this mix of untreated and treated water downstream, where due to not having free passage, the water has been accumulating in the areas around the village of Araba.

The state government had committed to the bench that new sewage treatment plants would be completed and started at Salawas by August/Sept 2017, and at Basni Benda by 2019. The bench was not satisfied by the explanation provided by the counsel appearing for the state. The bench also expressed its strong displeasure at non-completion of removal of sludge from the river …read more