The Hindu Editorial • October 28, 2026 • Read Original

River pollution from industrial effluents indicates state failure

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The Hindu Read Original

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Analysis of editorial from The Hindu newspaper on October 28, 2026

Fouled waters: On Rajasthan’s river pollution

River pollution from industrial effluents indicates state failure

Environment River PollutionJojari RiverSupreme CourtRajasthanEnvironmental GovernanceIndustrial Effluents

Sentences

Sentence 1 of 15

English Original

The Supreme Court has pulled up, once again, the Rajasthan government over industrial effluents flowing into the Jojari river and the deadly risk it poses for the people depending on it.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Supreme Court has , once again, the Rajasthan government

India’s highest court has once more strongly scolded the government of Rajasthan

Part 2

over industrial flowing into the Jojari river

because liquid factory waste is discharging directly into the Jojari river

Part 3

and the deadly risk it for the people depending on it.

and the life-threatening danger this creates for the local residents who rely on the river.

Context and Background

Supreme Court Oversight of Jojari River Pollution

The Supreme Court initiated suo motu proceedings titled ‘In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan’ to address untreated industrial waste entering the river. The Bench led by Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta warned state authorities of a CBI probe if illegal pollution and mining continued to threaten local communities.

Sentence 2 of 15

English Original

The problem is decades old— public interest litigation in the Rajasthan High Court alerted State machinery to the problem in 2011 — indicating an oversight by the State bordering on the systematic.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The problem is decades old

This issue of river contamination has existed for many decades

Part 2

— in the Rajasthan High Court alerted State to the problem in 2011 —

(court petitions filed in the public interest warned state officials about this crisis as early as 2011)

Part 3

indicating an by the State bordering on the .

showing a level of administrative neglect by the government that appears continuous and deeply rooted.

Context and Background

2011 High Court Interventions on River Pollution

In 2011, public interest litigations were filed in the Rajasthan High Court highlighting how untreated textile and industrial waste in Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra was destroying the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni rivers. Despite multiple judicial directions and the subsequent involvement of the National Green Tribunal, state authorities failed to stop the contamination.

Sentence 3 of 15

English Original

The Jojari, the Luni, and the Bandi are seasonal rivers in the State’s arid western region, flowing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Jojari, the Luni, and the Bandi are rivers

The Jojari, Luni, and Bandi are rivers that only flow during certain months of the year

Part 2

in the State’s western region,

in the dry, desert-like western part of Rajasthan,

Part 3

flowing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts.

passing across the districts of Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali.

Context and Background

The Luni River Basin System

The Luni is the principal river of the Thar Desert region in western Rajasthan, terminating in the Rann of Kutch. The Jojari and Bandi are its key tributaries; unlike other tributaries rising from the Aravalli hills, the Jojari originates from the Nagaur plateau and flows through Jodhpur before joining the Luni.

Sentence 4 of 15

English Original

This region has also evolved as a textile-dyeing and steelworking hub, and untreated or insufficiently treated effluents from these factories have run directly into the rivers and soil, endangering the health of around 20 lakh local residents.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

This region has also as a textile-dyeing and steelworking hub,

This area has also developed into a major manufacturing centre for cloth dyeing and steel processing,

Part 2

and untreated or treated effluents from these factories

and chemical liquid waste from these industrial plants that is not treated properly or at all

Part 3

have run directly into the rivers and soil,

has flowed straight into the riverbeds and ground,

Part 4

the health of around 20 lakh local residents.

putting the health and lives of nearly two million local people in serious danger.

Context and Background

Industrial Pollution and Public Health in Marwar

Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra are major centres in Rajasthan for textile processing, dyeing, and steel rerolling. Decades of releasing toxic chemical effluents containing azo dyes, heavy metals, and acids directly into the dry beds of the Jojari and Bandi rivers have contaminated regional aquifers and drinking water, putting nearly two million people at severe risk.

Sentence 5 of 15

English Original

The region also suffers rampant illegal sand mining in riverbeds.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The region also suffers

This area additionally endures the damage caused by

Part 2

illegal in riverbeds.

widespread, uncontrolled digging and stealing of sand from the dry river channels.

Context and Background

Illegal Riverbed Sand Mining in Rajasthan

Illegal sand mining (bajri khanan) in the dry riverbeds of the Luni, Bandi, and Jojari has severely eroded riverbanks, lowered groundwater tables, and disrupted the natural hydrology. The Supreme Court warned state officials of a CBI investigation after noting that authorities had regularised mining leases in areas where illegal extraction was known to be rampant.

Sentence 6 of 15

English Original

The sewage treatment plants have been able to accommodate only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres, according to the State’s submissions to the Court in 2025, even as the Court recorded substantial underutilisation at common effluent treatment plants.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The sewage treatment plants have been able to

The government-run municipal waste treatment facilities have managed to handle

Part 2

only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres,

only about fifty percent of the dirty wastewater produced in the three cities (Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra),

Part 3

according to the State’s submissions to the Court in 2025,

as per the official reports presented by the Rajasthan government to the Supreme Court in 2025,

Part 4

even as the Court recorded at .

even though the Supreme Court noted that shared industrial chemical treatment plants were running far below their full capacity.

Context and Background

STP Deficits vs CETP Underutilisation

Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) treat domestic urban wastewater, while Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) treat chemical waste from industrial clusters. In Rajasthan’s textile belt, municipal STPs lack the capacity to treat over 50% of urban sewage, whereas industrial CETPs often sit half-empty or shut down due to industries illegally dumping effluents through hidden bypass drains rather than routing them to treatment units.

Sentence 7 of 15

English Original

The combination is suggestive of industrial sources bypassing treatment facilities, poor connections between the sources and the facilities, and/or insufficient capacity at particular sites or in specific periods.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The combination is

This combination of facts strongly points to

Part 2

industrial sources treatment facilities,

factories actively avoiding or skipping the treatment plants by dumping waste directly,

Part 3

poor connections between the sources and the facilities,

faulty or missing drainage pipelines linking the factories to the treatment plants,

Part 4

and/or capacity at particular sites or in specific periods.

and inadequate processing capacity at certain locations or during peak production seasons.

Sentence 8 of 15

English Original

The Court initiated a suo motu writ petition in 2025 and constituted a High-level Ecosystem Oversight Committee chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha to audit the plants and draft a plan to restore the rivers.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Court initiated a in 2025

The Supreme Court took up the case on its own initiative in 2025 without waiting for a formal public complaint,

Part 2

and a High-level Ecosystem Oversight Committee

and set up a high-ranking expert committee to supervise the environmental situation

Part 3

chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha

headed by retired High Court Judge Justice Sangeet Lodha

Part 4

to the plants and draft a plan to restore the rivers.

to thoroughly inspect all the treatment plants and create a blueprint for reviving the polluted rivers.

Context and Background

Justice Sangeet Lodha Oversight Committee

In 2025, the Supreme Court initiated Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8 of 2025, titled ‘In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan’. To evaluate the ground situation scientifically, the Court formed a High-level Ecosystem Oversight Committee headed by retired Rajasthan High Court judge Justice Sangeet Lodha to audit treatment plants and formulate a rejuvenation plan.

Sentence 9 of 15

English Original

Based on the committee’s scathing status reports, Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta banned construction within 100 metres of the rivers’ edges and hazardous industries within 500 m of the present path, or of the flood lines where available.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Based on the committee’s status reports,

Acting on the committee’s severely critical inspection reports,

Part 2

Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta banned construction

Supreme Court Judges Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta prohibited all building activity

Part 3

within 100 metres of the rivers’ edges

within a hundred metres from the banks of the rivers

Part 4

and industries within 500 m of the present path,

and barred dangerous or polluting factories within 500 metres of the rivers’ current flowing course,

Part 5

or of the where available.

or within 500 metres of the officially marked high flood boundaries wherever recorded.

Context and Background

Judicial Buffer Zones along Riverbeds

To halt unchecked industrial encroachment and sand mining, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta imposed a strict 100-metre construction ban from river edges and barred hazardous industries within 500 metres of current river paths or demarcated High Flood Lines (HFL), superseding flawed government surveys based on dry-season flows.

Sentence 10 of 15

English Original

The Court has also upbraided local authorities for failing to enforce pollution norms by citing the Court’s own stay of a 2022 National Green Tribunal order imposing a compensation on the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation and the local administration in Jodhpur and Barmer.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Court has also local authorities

The Supreme Court has also strongly scolded and criticized local government officials

Part 2

for failing to enforce pollution

for neglecting to implement environmental safety rules

Part 3

by citing the Court’s own of a 2022 order

by using the Supreme Court’s temporary halt on a 2022 environmental tribunal order as an excuse,

Part 4

imposing a on the

which had levied heavy environmental penalty fines on RIICO (the state’s industrial development agency)

Part 5

and the local administration in Jodhpur and Barmer.

as well as on the municipal authorities in the Jodhpur and Barmer districts.

Context and Background

NGT Penalties on RIICO and SC Stay

In February 2022, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed an environmental compensation of ₹2 crore each on RIICO and local authorities for failing to control river pollution in Jodhpur and Barmer. When the Supreme Court granted an interim stay on the penalty, local authorities misused the order as an excuse to completely stop enforcing pollution controls, prompting a sharp rebuke from the apex court.

Sentence 11 of 15

English Original

The State regulatory apparatus has been dysfunctional: officials were aware of illegal mining operations in some areas, yet they regularised leases in those areas.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The State regulatory has been :

The state government’s monitoring and enforcement system has completely broken down:

Part 2

officials were aware of illegal mining operations in some areas,

government officers knew that illegal sand mining was taking place in several locations,

Part 3

yet they in those areas.

and yet they officially approved and granted legal mining contracts in those exact locations.

Context and Background

Regularisation of Illegal Mining Leases

During Supreme Court hearings, it was exposed that the Rajasthan Department of Mines regularised mining leases in riverbed zones where authorities had previously issued challans and noted rampant illegal sand mining. The Court expressed outrage at this bureaucratic collusion, questioning how illegal operators were rewarded with legal sanction.

Sentence 12 of 15

English Original

Given the dereliction in play, the Court is correct to treat the possibility of collusion between State officials and industrial mafias seriously.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Given the ,

Considering the shameless neglect of duty clearly taking place,

Part 2

the Court is correct to treat

the Supreme Court is entirely justified in taking

Part 3

the possibility of between State officials and industrial seriously.

the likelihood of secret corrupt partnerships between government officers and industrial criminals very seriously.

Context and Background

Threat of CBI Probe into Official Collusion

Noting how polluting units continued operating unimpeded and illegal sand mining flourished with bureaucratic blessings, Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta warned that the Court would not hesitate to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), stating that officials were clearly shielding industrial offenders.

Sentence 13 of 15

English Original

Justice Mehta’s observation that the State could be held liable under the ‘polluter pays’ principle is also a significant indictment of state failure, through negligence.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Justice Mehta’s observation

The remark made by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta

Part 2

that the State could be held under the ‘’ principle

stating that the Rajasthan government itself could be legally forced to pay environmental damages under the rule that those who cause pollution must bear its cleanup costs,

Part 3

is also a significant of state failure,

serves as a powerful and serious condemnation of the government’s utter failure,

Part 4

through .

caused by its reckless failure to perform its legal duties.

Context and Background

Applying the

The ‘Polluter Pays’ principle, established in Indian jurisprudence through landmark cases like Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum (1996), normally holds polluting private industries financially liable for remediation. Justice Sandeep Mehta expanded this doctrine to hold the Rajasthan government itself financially accountable, noting that the State’s own regulatory apathy and negligence directly facilitated river destruction.

Sentence 14 of 15

English Original

Now, importantly, the State still has to restore the Jojari and attend to its wellbeing, which is relevant to a recent tendency by the Court to substitute itself for regulators rather than disciplining them into discharging their functions.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Now, importantly, the State still has to restore the Jojari

At this critical point, the Rajasthan government is still responsible for cleaning up and reviving the Jojari river

Part 2

and attend to its ,

and taking active care of its environmental health,

Part 3

which is relevant to a recent tendency by the Court

which connects directly to a concerning pattern seen in the Supreme Court recently,

Part 4

where the court itself takes over the administrative role of official environmental bodies,

Part 5

rather than them into their functions.

instead of strictly correcting and compelling those statutory agencies to carry out their legal duties properly.

Context and Background

Judicial Review vs Regulatory Substitution

In Indian environmental jurisprudence, the Supreme Court has often stepped into executive voids by creating court-monitored oversight committees and formulating micro-policies. However, legal experts caution that when the judiciary acts as a substitute regulator rather than holding statutory bodies (like the State Pollution Control Boards and RIICO) legally accountable to do their jobs, it creates long-term institutional weakness and lets the executive abdicate its responsibilities.

Sentence 15 of 15

English Original

This needs to change.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

needs to change.

This habit of courts taking over the duties of executive regulators must stop and change.

Sentence 1 of 15

Sentences Breakdown

Editorial Summary

5-Point Summary

1 The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded the Rajasthan government for failing to stop toxic industrial effluents from polluting the Jojari river and threatening public health.
2 Despite alerts from the High Court since 2011, untreated waste from textile and steel industries in Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali continues to contaminate seasonal rivers and soil.
3 Inadequate sewage treatment facilities, underutilised effluent plants, and rampant illegal sand mining point toward widespread regulatory breakdown and possible official collusion.
4 The Supreme Court intervened by forming an expert committee, banning construction near riverbeds, and warning that the state could be penalised under the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
5 The editorial urges the state government to urgently restore the river, noting that the judiciary should discipline regulators instead of permanently taking over executive duties.

Tone of the Editorial

Critical

Why this tone?

The editorial strongly criticizes the Rajasthan government and local authorities for decades of neglect, regulatory failure, and suspected collusion that allowed industrial effluents to poison the Jojari river. Phrases like ‘oversight by the State bordering on the systematic’, ‘State regulatory apparatus has been dysfunctional’, and ‘significant indictment of state failure’ highlight a stern and condemning stance.

Sentence 1 of 15

The Supreme Court has pulled up, once again, the Rajasthan government over industrial effluents flowing into the Jojari river and the deadly risk it poses for the people depending on it.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Supreme Court has pulled up, once again, the Rajasthan government

India’s highest court has once more strongly scolded the government of Rajasthan

Part 2

over industrial effluents flowing into the Jojari river

because liquid factory waste is discharging directly into the Jojari river

Part 3

and the deadly risk it poses for the people depending on it.

and the life-threatening danger this creates for the local residents who rely on the river.

Sentence 2 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The problem is decades old

This issue of river contamination has existed for many decades

Part 2

— public interest litigation in the Rajasthan High Court alerted State machinery to the problem in 2011 —

(court petitions filed in the public interest warned state officials about this crisis as early as 2011)

Part 3

indicating an oversight by the State bordering on the systematic.

showing a level of administrative neglect by the government that appears continuous and deeply rooted.

Sentence 3 of 15

The Jojari, the Luni, and the Bandi are seasonal rivers in the State’s arid western region, flowing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Jojari, the Luni, and the Bandi are seasonal rivers

The Jojari, Luni, and Bandi are rivers that only flow during certain months of the year

Part 2

in the State’s arid western region,

in the dry, desert-like western part of Rajasthan,

Part 3

flowing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts.

passing across the districts of Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali.

Sentence 4 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

This region has also evolved as a textile-dyeing and steelworking hub,

This area has also developed into a major manufacturing centre for cloth dyeing and steel processing,

Part 2

and untreated or insufficiently treated effluents from these factories

and chemical liquid waste from these industrial plants that is not treated properly or at all

Part 3

have run directly into the rivers and soil,

has flowed straight into the riverbeds and ground,

Part 4

endangering the health of around 20 lakh local residents.

putting the health and lives of nearly two million local people in serious danger.

Sentence 5 of 15

The region also suffers rampant illegal sand mining in riverbeds.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The region also suffers

This area additionally endures the damage caused by

Part 2

rampant illegal sand mining in riverbeds.

widespread, uncontrolled digging and stealing of sand from the dry river channels.

Sentence 6 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The sewage treatment plants have been able to accommodate

The government-run municipal waste treatment facilities have managed to handle

Part 2

only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres,

only about fifty percent of the dirty wastewater produced in the three cities (Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra),

Part 3

according to the State’s submissions to the Court in 2025,

as per the official reports presented by the Rajasthan government to the Supreme Court in 2025,

Part 4

even as the Court recorded substantial underutilisation at common effluent treatment plants.

even though the Supreme Court noted that shared industrial chemical treatment plants were running far below their full capacity.

Sentence 7 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The combination is suggestive of

This combination of facts strongly points to

Part 2

industrial sources bypassing treatment facilities,

factories actively avoiding or skipping the treatment plants by dumping waste directly,

Part 3

poor connections between the sources and the facilities,

faulty or missing drainage pipelines linking the factories to the treatment plants,

Part 4

and/or insufficient capacity at particular sites or in specific periods.

and inadequate processing capacity at certain locations or during peak production seasons.

Sentence 8 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Court initiated a suo motu writ petition in 2025

The Supreme Court took up the case on its own initiative in 2025 without waiting for a formal public complaint,

Part 2

and constituted a High-level Ecosystem Oversight Committee

and set up a high-ranking expert committee to supervise the environmental situation

Part 3

chaired by Justice Sangeet Lodha

headed by retired High Court Judge Justice Sangeet Lodha

Part 4

to audit the plants and draft a plan to restore the rivers.

to thoroughly inspect all the treatment plants and create a blueprint for reviving the polluted rivers.

Sentence 9 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Based on the committee’s scathing status reports,

Acting on the committee’s severely critical inspection reports,

Part 2

Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta banned construction

Supreme Court Judges Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta prohibited all building activity

Part 3

within 100 metres of the rivers’ edges

within a hundred metres from the banks of the rivers

Part 4

and hazardous industries within 500 m of the present path,

and barred dangerous or polluting factories within 500 metres of the rivers’ current flowing course,

Part 5

or of the flood lines where available.

or within 500 metres of the officially marked high flood boundaries wherever recorded.

Sentence 10 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The Court has also upbraided local authorities

The Supreme Court has also strongly scolded and criticized local government officials

Part 2

for failing to enforce pollution norms

for neglecting to implement environmental safety rules

Part 3

by citing the Court’s own stay of a 2022 National Green Tribunal order

by using the Supreme Court’s temporary halt on a 2022 environmental tribunal order as an excuse,

Part 4

imposing a compensation on the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation

which had levied heavy environmental penalty fines on RIICO (the state’s industrial development agency)

Part 5

and the local administration in Jodhpur and Barmer.

as well as on the municipal authorities in the Jodhpur and Barmer districts.

Sentence 11 of 15

The State regulatory apparatus has been dysfunctional: officials were aware of illegal mining operations in some areas, yet they regularised leases in those areas.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

The State regulatory apparatus has been dysfunctional:

The state government’s monitoring and enforcement system has completely broken down:

Part 2

officials were aware of illegal mining operations in some areas,

government officers knew that illegal sand mining was taking place in several locations,

Part 3

yet they regularised leases in those areas.

and yet they officially approved and granted legal mining contracts in those exact locations.

Sentence 12 of 15

Given the dereliction in play, the Court is correct to treat the possibility of collusion between State officials and industrial mafias seriously.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Given the dereliction in play,

Considering the shameless neglect of duty clearly taking place,

Part 2

the Court is correct to treat

the Supreme Court is entirely justified in taking

Part 3

the possibility of collusion between State officials and industrial mafias seriously.

the likelihood of secret corrupt partnerships between government officers and industrial criminals very seriously.

Sentence 13 of 15

Justice Mehta’s observation that the State could be held liable under the ‘polluter pays’ principle is also a significant indictment of state failure, through negligence.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Justice Mehta’s observation

The remark made by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta

Part 2

that the State could be held liable under the ‘polluter pays’ principle

stating that the Rajasthan government itself could be legally forced to pay environmental damages under the rule that those who cause pollution must bear its cleanup costs,

Part 3

is also a significant indictment of state failure,

serves as a powerful and serious condemnation of the government’s utter failure,

Part 4

through negligence.

caused by its reckless failure to perform its legal duties.

Sentence 14 of 15

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

Now, importantly, the State still has to restore the Jojari

At this critical point, the Rajasthan government is still responsible for cleaning up and reviving the Jojari river

Part 2

and attend to its wellbeing,

and taking active care of its environmental health,

Part 3

which is relevant to a recent tendency by the Court

which connects directly to a concerning pattern seen in the Supreme Court recently,

Part 4

to substitute itself for regulators

where the court itself takes over the administrative role of official environmental bodies,

Part 5

rather than disciplining them into discharging their functions.

instead of strictly correcting and compelling those statutory agencies to carry out their legal duties properly.

Sentence 15 of 15

This needs to change.

Sentence Breakdown

Part 1

This needs to change.

This habit of courts taking over the duties of executive regulators must stop and change.

Reading Comprehension

Practice questions based on this editorial

Reading Comprehension - Rajasthan River Pollution

Practice reading comprehension questions based on the editorial about Rajasthan river pollution and industrial effluents in the Jojari.

7 Questions Passing: 50%

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