Current Affairs · · GS3 · Environment

Supreme Court presses Rajasthan to clean up Jojari-Bandi-Luni rivers

The Supreme Court has issued a series of orders against industrial pollution of the Jojari, Bandi and Luni rivers in western Rajasthan, calling it a long-running failure of regulation. It has banned construction near the Jojari, ordered special courts to try polluters and asked for a river restoration plan. A Hindu editorial calls the pollution a case of State failure.

Event date:

REq1
  1. Note1 / 5

    WHY IN NEWS?

    • The Supreme Court is hearing a suo motu case titled In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan.
    • A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta has called the pollution a sustained collapse of regulatory vigilance.
    • In November 2025, it revived the National Green Tribunal's 2022 clean-up directions and set up a high-level oversight committee.
    • On 24 August 2026, it banned construction within 100 metres of the Jojari and polluting activities within 500 metres of its flood line.
    • A Hindu editorial calls the pollution a sign of State failure.
  2. Note2 / 5

    THE RIVER SYSTEM

    • The Jojari flows past Jodhpur, the Bandi past Pali, and the Luni past Balotra.
    • The Jojari and Bandi join the Luni near Balotra.
    • The Luni is western Rajasthan's main river and drains towards the Rann of Kachchh.
    • Textile dyeing and printing units and steel re-rolling mills in the region discharge effluent into these rivers.
    • Sewage treatment capacity has lagged behind urban growth.
  3. Note3 / 5

    KEY CONCEPTS

    1. What is the polluter pays principle?

    Those who cause pollution must pay to repair the damage. The Supreme Court applied it in Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India (1996).

    1. What is the public trust doctrine?

    The State holds natural resources such as rivers in trust for the public and cannot hand them over for private harm. It was applied in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997).

    1. How is a clean environment a fundamental right?

    In Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar (1991), the Court held that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to pollution-free water and air.

    1. What does the Water Act, 1974 do?

    It set up pollution control boards and requires consent before industries discharge effluent into water bodies.

  4. Note4 / 5

    WHAT THE COURT HAS ORDERED

    • Oversight: A high-level committee headed by a former High Court judge.
    • Special courts: In Jodhpur, Pali and Balotra to prosecute polluting units.
    • Buffer zones: No construction within 100 metres of the Jojari; no polluting activity within 500 metres of its flood line, until scientific demarcation.
    • Coordination: An integrated group headed by Rajasthan's Chief Secretary.
    • Restoration plan: A comprehensive plan, including action against riverbed encroachment and illegal mining.
  5. Note5 / 5

    WAY FORWARD

    These are the editorial's suggestions, not adopted policy.

    • Shut illegal outlets and prosecute proven violators.
    • Fix infrastructure: Repair pipelines, expand sewage and effluent treatment, and reuse treated water.
    • Fix accountability: Recover compensation and investigate regulators who failed to act.
    • Restore the basin using scientific planning and monitoring.
    • Protect people: Provide safe drinking water and check health impacts.

Sources

Syllabus

PaperSubjectSub-topic
GS3EnvironmentEnvironmental pollution and degradation, conservation
GS2PolityJudiciary, environmental jurisprudence, federal governance
PrelimsEnvironmentWater Act 1974, polluter pays, public trust doctrine, Luni basin

Topics

Agriculture and EnvironmentGovernanceHigher Judiciary (SC and HC)

Related previous-year questions

Asked in earlier UPSC Prelims papers on this topic. Answer, then check.

  1. UPSC Prelims 2018 · Environment and Ecology · Pollution

    Which of the following is/are the possible consequence of heavy sand mining in river beds? 1. Decreased salinity in the river 2. Pollution of groundwater 3. Lowering of the water-table Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 and 3 only
    3. 1 and 3 only
    4. 1, 2 and 3
    Show answer

    Answer: B. Consequences 2 and 3 follow, so the answer is (b) 2 and 3 only. Statement 1 is INCORRECT, and it reverses the effect. Depletion of sand in the streambed and along coastal areas deepens rivers and estuaries and enlarges river mouths and coastal inlets, which may lead to saline water intrusion from the nearby sea. Salinity therefore rises rather than falls. Statement 2 is CORRECT. Sand mining affects the adjoining groundwater system and the uses local people make of the river, and turbidity increases at the mining site. Statement 3 is CORRECT. A sand aquifer helps recharge the water table, so sand mining causes water tables in nearby areas to sink, leaving drinking water wells on the embankments dry. SOURCE: Peer reviewed study on the effects of instream sand mining (reference material). HOW TO CRACK IT: Sand in a riverbed does two jobs, holding water for recharge and holding back the sea. Remove it and both fail, which yields a falling water table and rising salinity in one step. Statement 1 is the standard reversal trick, so when a statement claims an extractive activity improves a water quality parameter, suspect the direction has been flipped.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

    Open this question on its own page, with the full explanation →

Practice questions

  1. The "polluter pays" principle was recognised by the Supreme Court in:

    1. M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath
    2. Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India
    3. Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar
    4. T.N. Godavarman v. Union of India
    Show answer

    Answer: B. Kamal Nath applied the public trust doctrine.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

  2. The Jojari and Bandi rivers are tributaries of which river?

    1. Chambal
    2. Banas
    3. Luni
    4. Mahi
    Show answer

    Answer: C. They join the Luni near Balotra.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

  3. Which case held that the right to life includes the right to pollution-free water and air?

    1. Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar
    2. Olga Tellis v. BMC
    3. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
    4. Francis Coralie Mullin v. UT of Delhi
    Show answer

    Answer: A. It was decided in 1991.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

Mains practice

Answer-writing practice on this article. Attempt it first, then open the hints.

  1. GS3 · 250 words

    "River pollution in India reflects regulatory failure more than a lack of laws." Discuss with reference to the Jojari-Bandi-Luni case.

    Show hints
    1. Water Act, pollution boards
    2. polluter pays, public trust
    3. judicial oversight, special courts
    4. sewage gaps
    5. accountability.