Disturbing Pattern Of Administrative Apathy & Regulatory Inaction: Supreme Court Issues Stringent Directions To Ensure Strict Compliance To Save Jojari River
Court adopts Oversight Committee’s directions to arrest systemic environmental degradation and institutional apathy in Rajasthan’s industrial hubs.
Supreme Court, River Pollution
The Supreme Court according its imprimatur to the recommendations of the High-Level Committee which it constituted to restore the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni river systems has issued a series of stringent interim directions for the industrial units and municipal bodies. The Court had taken suo-motu cognizance of the pollution in important rivers in western Rajasthan at peril which has put the lives of 2 million people, animals, and ecosystem at risk.
Expanding on the "Polluter Pays" principle, the Court held that the scale of environmental harm, coupled with prolonged administrative inaction, necessitated a coordinated and scientifically informed institutional framework to ensure accountability. In the operative directions, the Bench mandated that the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) ensure all treatment plants meet prescribed norms and upgrade to ZLD within defined timelines. The Court ordered a total ban on the transportation of industrial effluents via tankers, requiring the use of closed conduit pipelines with SCADA-based monitoring. Additionally, all illegal industrial units on agricultural land must be closed immediately, and hazardous sludge stored in CETP yards must be scientifically disposed of within four weeks.
Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta observed, “The material further reveals a disturbing pattern of administrative apathy and regulatory inaction on the part of the State of Rajasthan, its departments, instrumentalities and corporations, as well as the RIICO. Despite repeated inspections, warnings and judicial interventions, the failure to undertake timely and effective remedial measures has allowed the situation to deteriorate to its present critical state. The status report, therefore, not only corroborates the concerns earlier expressed by this Court but also establishes that the environmental catastrophe is widespread and is a direct consequence of sustained neglect and noncompliance”, the Bench noted.
Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G. appeared for the respondent.
Oversight Committee chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha (Retd.) was directed to formulate a restoration blueprint, and the current order followed the evaluation of the Committee’s first comprehensive status report submitted in March 2026.
The proceedings originated from the severe degradation of the Jojari River system in Rajasthan, affecting over two million lives. Detailed field inspections across Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra revealed a "disturbing pattern of administrative apathy," where toxic wastewater led to large-scale mortality of hardy Babul trees and rendered agricultural lands unproductive.
In Jodhpur, submerged pipelines and illegal textile activities were found discharging waste directly into the river, while in Pali, the Nehda Dam, a freshwater reservoir, had been transformed into a toxic sludge repository.
The Court had previously stayed a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order imposing compensation on state authorities but later clarified that this stay would not restrain substantive remedial measures. Recognizing the "systemic failure" of stakeholders, the Court constituted a High-Level Ecosystem
The Court’s reasoning focused on the "entrenched" nature of the damage, which it identified as a direct consequence of sustained neglect by the State of Rajasthan and RIICO. It noted that the scale of industrial activity, particularly in the textile sector, far exceeded the existing treatment infrastructure. The Court found that institutional constraints and disputes between operating agencies had compromised the efficiency of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), leading to the continuous poisoning of groundwater and soil.
“The status report discloses that the damage to the river system is not only extensive in scale but also deeply entrenched, indicative of a prolonged and systemic failure on part of all stakeholders in curbing pollution and enforcing environmental safeguards. The magnitude and persistence of the harm, as reflected in the status report, demonstrate a continuing and alarming deterioration of all three riverine ecosystems”, it noted.
The Court issued extensive interim directions to ensure river restoration and strict environmental compliance in Rajasthan, including:
-Immediate completion of CETP and effluent systems, with strict accountability and penalties for delays.
-Strong enforcement against illegal discharge, polluting industries, and non-compliant units, including closure and prosecution.
-Adoption of technology-driven monitoring, zero liquid discharge norms, and prohibition on new hazardous industries near riverbanks.
-Institutional reforms through nodal agencies, expert panels, and coordinated oversight committees.
-Restoration of the river’s natural flow, environmental damage assessment, and creation of compensation mechanisms.
-Provision of safe drinking water and protection of affected communities’ rights under Article 21.
-Establishment of Special Courts for speedy trial of environmental violations.
The Court noting that the directions grounded in the constitutional right to a clean environment, said that the State must ensure time-bound compliance, with progress reports to be submitted before July 21, 2026.
Cause Title: In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan [Neutral Citation: 2026 INSC 316]
Appearances:
Petitioner: By Courts Motion, AOR, Saurabh Rajpal, AOR, M/S. Aura & Co., AOR, Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G. Nikhil Jain, AOR, Divya Jain, Arveen Sekhon, Advocates.
Respondent: Siddharth Praveen Acharya, AOR, Lakshay Sharma, Bhuvnesh Vyas, Sapna Bhardwaj, Sapna Bhardwaj, Princess Singh, K. Paari Vendhan, AOR, Rishabh Sancheti, Milind Kumar, AOR, Archna Pathak Dave, A.S.G., Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR, Harshita Choubey, Aditya Dixit, Udit Dediya, Varun Chugh, Rohan Gupta, Avijit Roy, AOR, Saurabh Rajpal, AOR, Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G., Harshita Choubey, Aaditya Dixit, Udit Dedhiya, Varun Chugh, Yogesh Vats, Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR, Azmat Hayat Amanullah, AOR, Dama Seshadri Naidu, Sr. Adv., Vinay Kothari, Mehul Kothari, Divya Pratap Parmar, Akansha Agarwal, Rk Rajwanshi, Arpit Gupta, AOR, Chandrika Prasad Mishra, AOR, Prashasti Singh, Ankit Pandey, Swati Surbhi, Harshita Bharadwaj, Nishant Awana, AOR, Rini Badoni, Gs Awana, Mayank Chaudhary, Pooja Chand Dwivedi, M/s Nma Law Chambers, Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G., Saurabh Rajpal, Arushi Rathore, Nidhi Jaswal, AOR, Raghunatha Sethupathy B, AOR, Siddharth Praveen Acharya, AOR, Lakshay Sharma, Bhuvnesh Vyas, Sapna Bhardwaj, Sapna Bhardwaj. Advocates.