New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued directions, which also included compensation to the aggrieved families and individuals, to mitigate severe pollution in Palar River in Tamil Nadu due to discharge of untreated effluents from local tanneries, saying it has “resulted in irreversible damage to the water bodies, groundwater and agricultural lands….”.
The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan. The bench expressed its anguish at untrammelled dumping or partially treated effluents by the tanneries into the River Palar and surrounding areas. The bench said this act has ravaged the water body, which is a source of life and livelihood for farmers and residents. “Resulted in irreversible damage to the water bodies, groundwater and agricultural lands….”, said the bench, adding that “it is also abundantly clear that the discharges were neither authorised nor were as per the standards set by the control boards”.
The apex court asked the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a panel headed by a former high court judge to assess and remediate the ecological damage.
The apex court directed the state government to pay compensation to all the affected families' and individuals', if not already paid, in accordance with the terms of the award dated March 7, 2001 and August 24, 2009. The bench said this process should be completed in six weeks from today. “This environmental degradation has impoverished local farmers and has caused human suffering to the local residents and the tannery workers thereby endangering public health and life”, said the bench.
Justice Mahadevan, who pronounced the judgment on behalf of the bench, also asked the government to recover costs from polluting industries under the “polluter pays” principle.
The apex court delivered the judgment on a lead petition titled: Vellore District Environment Monitoring Committee v. State of Tamil Nadu.
The apex court directed the state government to deliberate the issue with the central government and constitute, within four weeks, a committee headed by a retired high court judge.
The bench said the committee should also comprise secretaries of state and central departments besides environmental experts, representatives of the affected communities and any other person deemed fit for conducting an audit to maintain and create a clean and healthy environment in Vellore. The committee shall carry out the tasks and ensure its implementation until the damage caused is reversed, it added.
Justice Mahadevan, in the 116-page judgment, said the overall analysis clearly demonstrates that tanneries are among the most polluting industries and the damage caused by them by discharging untreated or partially treated effluents into the River Palar and surrounding areas, has resulted in irreversible damage to the water bodies, groundwater, and agricultural lands.
"This environmental degradation has impoverished local farmers and has caused immense suffering to the local residents and the tannery workers, thereby endangering public health and life. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that the condition of tannery workers is no better than that of manual scavengers. With a majority of workers being women, the situation is even more distressing. It is also abundantly clear that the discharges were neither authorized nor in compliance with the standards set by the Pollution Control Boards," said the bench.
He said it is disheartening to hear a worker describe the chemical pollution as "so powerful it can melt the dead - it's only a matter of time before it begins to melt the living".
"The industries have not complied with the extant statutory guidelines framed by the Government as per the appellant/ Vellore District Environment Monitoring Committee. At the same time, the report also reveals that the tannery industry is not the sole polluter affecting the river. Other pollutants, such as untreated sewage and solid wastes generated in the towns are also being dumped into the river," said the top court.
Justice Mahadevan said despite the responsibility of the municipalities to treat sewage, no effective steps have been taken and untreated sewage continues to be released directly into the river.
"All of this occurs while various Supreme Court directives and environmental norms are flouted, and the schemes or plans framed by the Government remain on paper, failing to achieve any meaningful results. Thus, this Court, being the custodian of fundamental rights, must come to the rescue of the affected individuals/families and ensure that persistent wrongs are rectified and justice is actually done," said Justice Mahadevan.
