Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Wednesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking measures to prevent untreated sewage and industrial effluents from being discharged into the Godavari and its tributaries.A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin directed petitioner A Sampath Kumar to approach National Green Tribunal (NGT). Although the high court has jurisdiction, it stated that NGT has the required expertise to deal with the matter and so was not taking up the PIL.Sampath Kumar, a law student from Mancherial district, referring to a report by the Union ministry of jal shakti’s National River Conservation Directorate, argued that not only urban waste but also industrial effluents were being drained into the river, causing severe pollution. Further, sewage waste from Nirmal and Dharmapuri municipalities, located on the banks of the Godavari, was directly released into the river. Furthermore, 270 million gallons of water from the Yellampalli project, situated downstream, was being lifted to supply Hyderabad’s needs, posing a grave risk to all the habitat around the river and the metropolis. “Industrial effluents from Patancheru are also being discharged into Godavari’s tributaries,” Sampath Kumar added.After hearing his arguments, the bench noted that the issue extended beyond Telangana and the problem concerns multiple states. “If the water coming from Maharashtra itself is polluted, what is the point of establishing STPs here?” the bench asked. Meanwhile, standing counsel for the Pollution Control Bureau informed the court that NGT was already seized of the discharge from industries at Patancheru. “There are 14 such cases (of Patancheru) in which environmental compensation has also been awarded to restitute the damage caused,” the counsel informed.Recording the submissions, the bench noted that the petitioner has an effective, efficacious remedy to address his concerns. “NGT has been playing a seminal role in addressing environmental issues across pan India over which it has jurisdiction and hence it would be able to address these issues covering several states through which the famous Godavari river flows,” the bench said, disposing of the PIL.
