The Kerala High Court on Thursday proposed the creation of a single, unified body to monitor and address the increasing pollution in the Periyar river [Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi v State of Kerala & ors and connected cases]..Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice MB Snehalatha emphasised on the need for a comprehensive and centralised oversight for protecting the Periyar river from pollution and degradation."It is viable to have an authority in charge of Periyar as a whole and not in units as now being practiced. It would bring viable changes, at least for the protection of its future flow," the Bench said.The Court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by NGOs including Green Action Force, Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi and others, highlighting the severe environmental degradation of the river.The petitions were filed following the death of fish and other marine animals in Periyar due to severe pollution caused by unchecked waste dumping from industries along its banks.Periyar, which is Kerala's longest river, has been grappling with pollution issues for years, with various environmental NGOs and local communities seeking judicial intervention in the absence of effective measures by the Pollution Control Board and other regulatory agencies..The Court in its order highlighted submissions made by advocate Kuriakose Varghese, who drew parallels with the approach adopted by the Central government in establishing the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).He said NGRBA has been effective as a monitoring body in coordinating with local government authorities to ensure that river Ganga is clean and sustainable.Varghese urged to the Court to adopt a similar framework for Periyar.The Court prima facie agreed and also said that the State government has a crucial role in developing a robust policy with adequate safeguards and protections to operationalise the proposed authority. "We are aware that in the case of river Ganga, such experiments have borne fruit. Of course for this, the government has a role to play because while thinking about an authority as we are now proposing, it will require the government to come up with sufficient safeguards and protections and in formulation of the policy," the Court added.It took note of the report filed by a committee constituted by the Court, which exposed the gravity of problems with respect to Periyar.The Bench then proceeded to direct the State government to prepare a comprehensive proposal, while referring to the report and propose suggestions by the next hearing.The matter will be heard again on January 29..[Read Live Coverage]