Fouled waters: On Rajasthan’s river pollution

The Supreme Court responded to long-running pollution in Rajasthan’s Jojari, Luni and Bandi rivers with restrictions, monitoring and a restoration plan. The rivers cross an arid region where factories, sewage and mining have placed residents at risk. The Court’s action reflects concern that normal enforcement has failed.

In 2025, it began a suo motu writ petition and formed a High-level Ecosystem Oversight Committee chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha. Acting on the committee’s reports, Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta banned construction within 100 metres of the rivers’ edges. Hazardous industries were barred within 500 metres of the present river path, or flood lines where available.

The committee must audit treatment plants and draft a restoration plan. The State must still restore the Jojari and address its ongoing health. The Court has also criticised authorities for weak enforcement, illegal mining and treatment-plant underuse.

Industrial effluents are wastewater released by factories after industrial processes. In this region, textile-dyeing and steelworking units produce waste that can flow into rivers or soak into soil when it is untreated or inadequately treated. Its contents depend on the industrial activity, so treatment must address industrial pollutants.

Ordinary domestic sewage is wastewater generated by homes and urban areas. It enters sewage systems and is meant to be handled by sewage-treatment plants. Industrial wastewater should generally be collected and treated through suitable common effluent-treatment plants or other industrial facilities before discharge. The article distinguishes these streams by linking factories to effluents and cities to sewage.

The distinction matters because the region’s plants were not solving the whole problem. Sewage plants handled only around half of urban sewage, while common effluent plants were substantially underused. That points to weak connections, bypassing or capacity problems.

Around 20 lakh local residents are exposed to the health risks associated with pollution in the river region. The affected rivers are the seasonal Jojari, Luni and Bandi, which flow through Jodhpur, Balotra and Pali districts. Their pollution therefore affects a large population that depends on the region’s water and land.

The sewage-treatment system is also far from sufficient. State submissions to the Court in 2025 said plants could accommodate only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres. At the same time, the Court recorded substantial underutilisation at common effluent-treatment plants serving industrial sources.

Together, these figures show both limited capacity and poor use of existing capacity. The article points to factories bypassing treatment, weak connections between waste sources and plants, or insufficient capacity at particular sites or during specific periods. These gaps leave pollution entering rivers and soil.

Untreated industrial waste and sewage introduce harmful contamination into rivers and surrounding soil. The article links factory effluents directly to the Jojari, Luni and Bandi and says they endanger the health of around 20 lakh local residents. Pollution becomes especially serious when communities depend on the affected river region.

The article identifies textile-dyeing and steelworking factories as industrial sources. Their untreated or insufficiently treated effluents have flowed into rivers and soil. Sewage-treatment plants can handle only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres. Illegal sand mining also occurs in riverbeds, adding physical damage to chemical and sewage pollution.

The combined problem is larger than any single discharge. Waste can bypass treatment plants, fail to reach them, or exceed local capacity. Mining further degrades riverbeds. The Court’s restoration plan and restrictions aim to reduce these pressures, but the State must enforce pollution rules and repair the system.

Jodhpur, Balotra and Pali are especially vulnerable because they sit in Rajasthan’s arid western region, where the Jojari, Luni and Bandi are seasonal rivers. Their limited and seasonal flows face pollution from a concentrated industrial economy. The region has developed as a textile-dyeing and steelworking hub.

Factories have discharged untreated or insufficiently treated effluents directly into rivers and soil. Urban sewage adds another burden: treatment plants can accommodate only around half of the sewage generated in the three centres. Common effluent-treatment plants were also substantially underused. Illegal sand mining in riverbeds creates a further environmental pressure.

The problem is aggravated by weak regulation. The article says authorities knew about illegal mining in some areas but regularised leases there. Officials also failed to enforce pollution norms. The combination of industrial activity, inadequate treatment, mining and regulatory failure puts local residents and river restoration at risk.

Sewage-treatment plants are meant to receive and treat wastewater generated by cities. Common effluent-treatment plants serve industrial sources, treating factory wastewater before it reaches rivers or soil. Both systems are intended to prevent untreated discharges and protect public health and the river ecosystem.

The article shows what happens when those roles break down. Plants in the three urban centres could accommodate only around half of their sewage. Common effluent-treatment plants were substantially underutilised. The Court said this could indicate factories bypassing facilities, poor connections between sources and plants, or insufficient capacity at particular sites or periods.

Pollution-control and local authorities must enforce pollution norms, regulate industrial releases, monitor treatment plants and prevent illegal mining. Instead, the State apparatus was described as dysfunctional. Officials knew of illegal mining in some areas but regularised leases. The Court’s committee now has to audit plants and prepare a restoration plan.

The ‘polluter pays’ principle places financial responsibility for pollution on the party responsible for causing it. In practice, that can include the cost of controlling discharges, repairing damage and restoring affected resources. It is designed to prevent pollution costs from being shifted onto residents or the public.

Justice Sandeep Mehta said the Rajasthan government could be held liable under this principle. The issue is not only the factories’ conduct. The article describes a dysfunctional regulatory apparatus, weak enforcement and officials who knew about illegal mining but regularised leases in those areas. Such negligence can make government failure part of the continuing pollution problem.

This possibility is a significant indictment of the State, according to the article. It could make authorities answerable for failing to regulate effectively. The immediate duty remains river restoration, especially for the Jojari. The article also says the Court should ultimately discipline regulators into doing their jobs rather than permanently replacing them.