Bharalu River pollution: Gauhati High Court directs Dispur to furnish details of interim measures

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court directed the state government to furnish the details regarding the interim measures planned to be taken by it to deal with the pollution of the Bharalu River till the scheduled completion of Phase-I and Phase-II of the project in 2030.

The direction was issued during a hearing by the division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam in a suomoto case (PIL (Suo Moto)/4/2023) concerning the pollution of the Bharalu River, a rivulet that flows through Guwahati city before meeting up with the Brahmaputra at Bharalumukh.

It has been pointed out time and again that the Bharalu has turned into a sort of drain, carrying all kinds of garbage and refuse thrown into it by residents. It has become a source of pollution, with dirty, blackish water and an offensive stench emanating from it.

During the hearing of the PIL, the counsel for the respondents, which includes the state government, the GMDA, the GMC, the Pollution Control Board, and others, submitted that in the affidavit filed, the proposed measures for dealing with the problem of pollution in the Bharalu River at Bharalumukh, Guwahati, have been detailed out. As per the said measures, three Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are proposed to be constructed at different locations. It is also mentioned that Phases I and II of the project are scheduled to be completed in the year 2030.

H.K. Das, standing counsel of the High Court, submitted that, as a matter of fact, the action plan for the Bharalu River has already been prepared in the year 2019, and the state government has now come up with a project to deal with the problem of pollution in the Bharalu River in the year 2024 only.

The counsel submitted that though certain interim measures have been suggested in the action plan to be implemented until the completion of the whole project, the suggested interim measures are yet to be taken by the  state government.

After having heard the counsel for the parties, the bench directed the counsel for the state government and its agencies to furnish the details regarding the interim measures to be taken by them to deal with the pollution of the Bharalu River till the completion of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in the year 2030.

The bench then asked for the matter to be listed after three weeks.

 Also Read: Assam: Save Bharalu voices concern over construction near Pamohi River (sentinelassam.com)

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