Supreme Court orders probe into illegal factories along Rajasthan rivers

The Supreme Court has directed Rajasthan to act against industries polluting the Bandi, Luni and Jojari rivers. Measures include removing illegal discharge points, investigating unauthorised units, recovering environmental compensation, curbing illegal mining and establishing district-level monitoring mechanisms with regular progress reports

Jaipur: The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan government to take action against industrial units polluting the Bandi, Luni and Jojari rivers, including the removal of factories found to be operating illegally.

The court has also ordered a comprehensive investigation into illegal industries operating on residential and agricultural land.

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A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued directions to the State government and the authorities concerned to address industrial pollution, illegal activities and land-use violations affecting the three river systems.

The court observed that the problem extends beyond individual industrial units and includes inadequate effluent treatment capacity, illegal industrial operations, land-use irregularities and ineffective monitoring.

The Supreme Court directed the authorities to immediately seal or remove identified illegal discharge points, bypass arrangements, manholes, chambers, pipelines and drains that have already been identified for removal.

The court clarified that the authorities must not wait for the completion of a detailed survey before implementing these measures.

An Action Taken Report must be submitted every 15 days to document progress. The court also ordered a comprehensive investigation into illegal industrial units operating on residential and agricultural land.

The directions call for action against industrial units violating land-use regulations. Investigations must extend beyond the units themselves to examine associated financial transactions, job-work arrangements, raw material supplies, transportation networks and the beneficiaries of these operations.

The authorities have been directed to initiate proceedings over revenue and land-use violations, remove or seize machinery where warranted, restore affected land and pursue legal action in accordance with the law.

The Supreme Court directed the Rajasthan government to establish a permanent monitoring mechanism in every district to prevent illegal industrial activities contributing to pollution.

The mechanism will involve the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, district administrations, police, revenue and transport departments, local bodies and other relevant agencies. The court also emphasised regular inspections, the appointment of designated nodal officers and timely action against violations.

The Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board has been directed to assess and recover environmental compensation from the responsible industrial units and individuals for the period during which violations occurred.

The Board must report the compensation assessed, the amount recovered and the outstanding balance.

The court has also directed the authorities to take time-bound decisions on proposals to expand existing Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), establish new facilities and upgrade industrial units’ Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) to Zero Liquid Discharge systems.

These measures are intended to improve wastewater management and prevent untreated industrial effluents from entering the river systems.

The Supreme Court has also directed the authorities to take immediate action against illegal gravel and sand mining that damages riverbeds and banks or disrupts natural water flows.

Officials have been instructed to submit comprehensive information on mining areas, leases, extracted quantities and mining depths to the High-Powered Ecosystem Oversight Committee by October 15.

The directions seek to strengthen enforcement against industrial pollution and illegal mining while establishing a sustained monitoring and accountability framework to protect Rajasthan’s river ecosystems.