India’s Supreme Court questions Rajasthan over Jojari river pollution and mining leases

India’s Supreme Court questioned Rajasthan officials on October 26 over mining leases granted in areas where illegal mining had been detected along the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system. The court also asked the state for a concrete, funded plan to address pollution, The Hindu reported. Its scrutiny puts the state’s own decisions, as well as industrial discharges, at the centre of the restoration case.

The Hindu reported that Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing Rajasthan, told the bench that cases had been registered over illegal mining. He said the state was taking steps to halt industrial activity along the three rivers and prevent industrial waste from flowing directly into them. The judges nevertheless questioned why mining leases had regularised areas where violations had previously been found.

Why the court challenged Rajasthan’s mining leases

LawBeat reported that the bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, said river corridors should be measured against flood conditions rather than the narrower flow seen in the dry season. It endorsed a committee recommendation to preserve the full recorded corridors. That approach matters to the restoration plan because it concerns how much of the river system the state must protect.

What Rajasthan must bring back to court

The court asked Rajasthan for a concrete financial proposal for common effluent treatment plants equipped with technology designed to prevent liquid discharge, The Hindu reported. The judges said the state could not leave restoration entirely to industries and municipal bodies when its own officials had regulatory duties. The Hindu also reported that the court said the polluter-pays principle would apply to the state as well as to industries.

The case began after a news report flagged serious pollution in the Jojari, a river that serves nearly two million people in Rajasthan, according to The Hindu. The court had previously directed the state to seal and dismantle illegal discharge points, including bypass arrangements, manholes, chambers and pipelines. The current hearing therefore also examined whether the state’s decisions on mining and river corridors were consistent with its duty to protect the waterways.

LawBeat reported that the court asked Rajasthan to return with an acceptable proposal to restore the river system and set the next hearing for November 27. The Hindu reported that detailed directions were still to come. The court’s warning of a possible CBI investigation was not an order to start one.