New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has constituted a High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee to frame a time-bound restoration plan for the river system comprising the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni rivers in Rajasthan, delivering a sharp rebuke to the State Government for years of neglect and regulatory lapses. A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, while hearing a suo motu petition titled In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan, observed:
“We are pained to observe that…the State should have acted spontaneously years ago, for ensuring around-the-clock compliances, which is the constitutional obligation of the State Government and the concerned authorities.”
The Court noted that although the State of Rajasthan had initiated certain remedial measures after judicial intervention,
“While the status report reflects that the State of Rajasthan has woken up from its slumber subsequent to this Court’s suo motu cognisance … the long-standing environmental devastation afflicting the river system and the adjoining areas, as a result of decades of continuous, unchecked discharge of industrial effluent and municipal sewage, suggests that sustained regulatory vigilance and timely administrative action were lacking in the preceding years.”
The Court further emphasised:
“What has happened is under your nose and with the connivance of all the officers concerned.”
In its order, the Court directed that the Oversight Committee shall be chaired by retired Justice Sangeet Lodha of the Rajasthan High Court, and shall include technical experts in water management, pollution control, senior officials of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, the Central Pollution Control Board, industrial development authorities, and district officials of Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra.
The Committee’s Terms of Reference include preparing a scientifically grounded river-restoration blueprint, auditing all treatment plants and discharge points, establishing real-time monitoring protocols, remediating contaminated soil and groundwater, and identifying responsible industrial units under the polluter-pays principle.
The Court recorded its concern that contamination of the river system has placed nearly two million lives at risk across Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra districts, holding that the environmental crisis constitutes a violation of the right to clean water and life under Article 21.
The Bench also noted that an earlier National Green Tribunal order dated 25 February 2022 had directed closure of non-compliant industries, zero-liquid-discharge compliance, and imposition of environmental compensation—directions that were stayed in appeal. The Court remarked that the stay had been misused as a licence to remain idle, observing:
“The protracted inaction that preceded these steps has allowed the pollution to deepen and spread, thereby aggravating the harm to millions of citizens.”
The matter has been posted for further hearing on 27 February 2026 for the Oversight Committee’s first status report. The decision underscores the judiciary’s unwillingness to accept incremental responses where large-scale ecological and human harm is at stake and marks the Court’s determination to exercise supervisory jurisdiction in environmental governance when statutory mechanisms repeatedly fail.
Case Details
Case Title: In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta
Date of Order: 21 November 2025
For Petitioner(s):
Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G.; Mr. Nikhil Jain, AOR; Ms. Divya Jain, Adv.; Mr. Anand Shankar, AOR
For Respondent(s):
Ms. Archna Pathak Dave, A.S.G.; Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR; Ms. Harshita Choubey, Adv.; Mr. Aditya Dixit, Adv.; Mr. Udit Dediya, Adv.; Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.; Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.; Mrs. Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G.; Ms. Harshita Choubey, Adv.; Mr. Aaditya Dixit, Adv.; Mr. Udit Dedhiya, Adv.; Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.; Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR; Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr. Adv. (NP); Mr. Chandrika Prasad Mishra, AOR; Ms. Prashasti Singh, Adv.; Ms. Harshita Bharadwaj, Adv.; Mr. Ankit Pandey, Adv.; Mr. Rishabh Sancheti, Adv.; Mr. K. Paari Vendhan, AOR; Mr. Siddharth Praveen Acharya, AOR; Mr. Lakshay Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Bhuvnesh Vyas, Adv.; Mr. Milind Kumar, AOR; Mr. Avijit Roy, AOR; Mr. Saurabh Rajpal, AOR; Mr. Azmat Hayat Amanullah, AOR; Mr. Vinay Kothari, Adv.; Mr. Mehul Kothari, Adv.; Mr. Divya Pratap Parmar, Adv.; Ms. Akansha Agarwal, Adv.; Mr. Arpit Gupta, AOR; Mr. Nishant Awana, AOR; Ms. Rini Badoni, Adv.; Mr. Mayank Chaudhary, Adv.; M/s NMA Law Chambers, Adv.; Mr. Raghunatha Sethupathy B., AOR; Mr. S. Sabari Bala Pandian, Adv.
