The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concerns over the discharge of untreated effluents and sewage into the Palar river in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, warning that such environmental degradation will inevitably have dire consequences [Vellore District Environment Monitoring Committee v. The District Collector, Vellore District & Ors.].

A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan observed that the river is being severely degraded due to thousands of liters of sewage pumped into it daily.

The bench remarked that in a country where many still rely on rivers for drinking water, such pollution is alarming and warned that nature will not spare us.

"You all have portrayed a pathetic picture...just imagine—thousands and thousands of liters of sewage being pumped into the river. What must be the state of the river? We are sure that in our country, people still go to the river to fetch water; everybody does not have a water connection. Believe me, nature will not spare us. This is not a lecture; it is coming from the heart," bench said.

It made these observations while hearing a plea concerning environmental pollution caused by tanneries discharging untreated effluents into the Palar river in Vellore district.

The Court was considering submissions from all parties, including the three Collectors of different districts, the Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board, and an officer from the Central Pollution Control Board, on how to proceed further with the effective implementation of the directions issued in its earlier judgment of January 30.

In that judgment, the Court had among other things ordered the constitution of a committee to be chaired by a retired High Court judge and include officials, environmental experts, and representatives of affected communities. This committee was tasked with auditing the ecological damage and overseeing restoration efforts in Vellore, ensuring that remedial measures are implemented effectively until the environmental harm is fully reversed.

The Court observed that presently two major issues required immediate focus - the proper functioning of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and the effectiveness of the committee established to oversee pollution control.

It urged all officials present to treat this as a serious challenge and strive to minimise pollution levels to the greatest extent possible.

The Court underscored the critical importance of CETPs operating at optimal levels, warning that failure to do so would result in untreated effluents flowing directly into the river, posing significant environmental and health risks.

"It is important to know how well CETPs are functioning… if CETPs aren’t functioning at their optimal level, then the trade effluents go straight into the river untreated, which is dangerous," Court noted.

The Court ordered that reports filed by the Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Board or State government be shared with the petitioner, who may respond during the next hearing.

The Court listed the matter for further consideration on August 25.

[Read Live Coverage]