ition No 3727 of 1985
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India Petitioner in person 
B Datta Additional Solictor General RK Jain Vinod Bobde RN Trivedi KN Bhat Tapash Ray BRL Iyenger RP Singh RP Kapur Ravinder Narain section Sukumaran CB Singh SK Dhingra PK Jain DN Goburdhan Arvind Kumar Ms Laxmi Arvind Vineet Kumar Deepak K Thakur TV section N Chari Ms Vrinda Grover Badri Nath Rakesh Khanna Mukul Mudgal AK Ghose MM Gangadeb Probir Mirtra Sushil Kumar Jain Saryakant Pappy T Mathews Mrs Mamta Kachhawaha Mrs Shobha Dikshit GS Misra SR Srivastava Parijat Sinha R Mohan Ms Bina Gupta Ranjit Kumar Krishna Kumar RC Verma Arun Minocha Sri Narain EC Agrawala SR Setia HK Puri TS Rana Pramod Swarup Ashok Grover section Markandeya Swarup
Ms Lalita Kohli KC Dua Rajbirbal RA Gupta and Ms A Subhashini for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VENKATARAMIAH J
By our judgment dated September 22 1987 in MC Mehta vs Union of India  others  we issued certain directions with regard to the industries in which the business of tanning was being carried on at Jajmau near Kanpur on the banks of the river Ganga
On that occasion we directed that the case in respect of the municipal bodies and the industries which were responsible for the pollution of the water in the river Ganga would be taken up for consideration on the next date of hearing
Accordingly we took up for consideration first the case against the municipal bodies
Since it was found that Kanpur was one of the biggest cities on the banks of the river Ganga we took up for consideration the case in respect of the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika is established under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam 1959 hereinafter referred to as the Adhiniyam 
Sub section 3 of section 535 1 of the Adhiniyam which is to be found in its 1st Chapter provides that the 1st Chapter of the Adhiniyam shall come into operation at once and the remaining provisions in relation to a city shall come into operation from such date as the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette appoint in that behalf and different dates may be appointed for different provisions
In exercise of the powers conferred by the said sub section and in continuation of a notification dated September 28 1959 bringing into operation sections 579 and 580 of the Adhiniyam the Governor of Uttar Pradesh was pleased to issue a notification dated January 18 1960 appointing the 1st day of February 1960 as the date on which the remaining provisions of the Adhiniyam and the three Schedules appended thereto would come into operation in relation to the cities of Kanpur Allahabad Varanasi Agra and Lucknow as constituted under section 3 of the Adhiniyam
The duties and powers of the Mahapalika and Mahapalika authorities are set out in Chapter V of the Adhiniyam
Clauses iii vii and viii of section 114 of the Adhiniyam which incorporates the obligatory duties of the Mahapalika read as follows 114
Obligatory duties of the Mahapalika It shall be incumbent on the Mahapalika to make reasonable and adequate provision by any means or measures which it is lawfully competent to it to use or to take for each of the following matters namely 
  iii the collection and removal of sewage offensive matter and rubbish and treatment and disposal thereof including establishing and maintaining farm or factory          vii the management and maintenance of all Mahapalika waterworks and the construction or acquisition of new works necessary for a sufficient supply of water for public and private purposes viii guarding from pollution water used for human consumption and preventing polluted water from being so used          536 Sections 251 388 396 297 398 405 and 407 of the Adhiniyam read as follows 251
Provision of means for disposal of sewage The Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may for the purpose of receiving treating storing disinfecting distributing or otherwise disposing of sewage construct any work within or without the City or purchase or take on lease any land building engine material or apparatus either within or without the City or enter into any arrangement with any person for any period not exceeding twenty years for the removal or disposal of sewage within or without the City
    388
Provision may be made by Mukhya Nagar Adhikari for collection etc of excrementitious and polluted matter 1 The Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may give public notice of his intention to provide in such portion of the City as he may specify for the collection removal and disposal by Mahapalika agency of all excrementitious and polluted matter from privies urinals and cess pools and thereupon it shall be the duty of the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari to take measures for the daily collection removal and disposal of such matter from all premises situated in such portion of the City
2 In any such portion as is mentioned in sub section 1 and in any premises wherever situated in which there is a water closet or privy connected with a mahapalika drain it shall not be lawful except with the written permission of the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari for any person who is not employed by or on behalf of the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari to discharge any of the duties of scavengers
         396
Removal of carcasses of dead animals I It shall be the duty of the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari to provide for the removal of the carcasses of all animals dying within the City
2 The occupier of any premises in or upon which 537 any animal shall die or in or upon which the carcass of any animal shall be found and the person having the charge of any animal which dies in the street or in any open place shall within three hours after the death of such animal or
if the death occurs at night within three hours after sunrise
report the death of such animal at the nearest office of the Mahapalika Health Department
3 For every carcass removed by mahapalika agency whether from any private premises or from public street or place a fee for the removal of such amount as shall be fixed by the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari shall be paid by the owner of the animal or if the owner is not known
by the occupier of the premises in or upon which or by the person in whose charge the said animal died
Prohibition of cultivation use of manure irrigation injurious to health If the Director of Medical and Health Services or the Civil Surgeon or the Nagar Swasthya Adhikari certifies that the cultivation of any description of crops or the use of any kind of manure or the irrigation of land in any specified manner a in a place within the limits of a City is injurious or facilitates practices which are injurious to the health of persons dwelling in the neighbourhood or b in a place within or beyond the limits of a City is likely to contaminate the water supply of such City or otherwise render it unfit for drinking purpose the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may by public notice prohibit the cultivation of such crop the use of such manure or the use of the method of irrigation so reported to be injurious or impose such conditions with respect thereto as may prevent the injury or contamination Provided that when on any land in respect of which such notice is issued the act prohibited has been practised in the ordinary course of husbandry for the five successive years next preceding the date of prohibition compensation shall be paid from the Mahapalika Fund to all persons interested therein for damage caused to them by such prohibition
538 398
Power to require owners to clear away noxious vegetation The Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may by notice
require the owner or occupier of any land to clear away and remove any vegetation or undergrowth which may be injurious to health or offensive to the neighbourhood
         405
Power to require removal of nuisance arising from tanks etc
The Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may by notice require the owner or occupier of any land or building to cleanse repair cover fill up or drain off a private well tank reservoir
pool depression or excavation therein which may appear to the Mukhiya Nagar Adhikari to be injurious to health or offensive to the neighbourhood Provided that the owner or occupier may require the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari to acquire at the expense of the Mahapalika or otherwise provide any land or rights in land necessary for the purpose of effecting drainage ordered under this section 407
Any place may at any time be inspected for purpose of preventing spread of dangerous disease The Mukhya Nagar Adhikari may at any time by day or day night without notice or after giving such notice of his intention as shall in the circumstances appear to him to be reasonable inspect any place in which any dangerous disease is reputed or suspected to exist and take such mea sures as he shall think fit to prevent the spread of the said disease beyond such place
 The above provisions deal with the specific duties of the Nagar Mahapalika or the Mukhya Nagar 
Adhikari appointed under the Adhiniyam with regard to the disposal of sewage and protection of the environment in or around the City to which the Adhiniyam applies
There are almost similar provisions in sections 7 189 19 l and other provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act 1916 which applies to the smaller municipal bodies
The Uttar Pradesh Water Supply and Sewerage Act 1975 imposes statutory duties on the authorities mentioned therein regarding the provision of water supply to the cities and towns and construction of sewerage systems in them
The perusal of these provisions in the laws governing the local bodies shows that the 539 Nagar Mahapalikas and the Minicipal Boards are primarily responsible for the maintenance of cleanliness in the areas under their jurisdiction and the protection of their environment
We have in the judgment delivered by us on September 22 1987 briefly referred to the Act No 6 of 1974 hereinafter referred to as the Water Act  in which provisions have been made for the establishment of the Boards for the prevention and control of water pollution for conferring on and assigning to such Boards powers and functions relating thereto and for matters connected therewith
In the Water Act the expressions pollution  sewage effluent  sewer  stream  and trade effluent  are defined as follows 2 Definitions In this Act unless the context otherwise requires  
   
e pollution  means such contamination of water or such alteration of the physical chemical or biological properties of water or such discharge of any sewage or treade effluent or of any other liquid gaseous or solid substance into water whether directly or indirectly as may or is likely to create a nuisance or render such water harmful or injurious to public health or safety or to domestic commercial industrial agricultural or other legitimate uses or to the life and health of animals or plants or of acquatic organisms  
g sewage effluent  means effluent from any sewerage system or sewage disposal works and includes sullage from open drains gg sewer  means any conduit pipe or channel open or closed carrying sewage or trade effluent 
j stream  includes i river 540 ii water course whether flowing or for the time being dry iii inland water whether natural or artificial iv sub terranean waters v sea or tidal waters to such extent or as the case may be to such point as the State may by notification in the official Gazette specify in this behalf k trade effluent  includes any liquid gaseous or solid substance which is discharged from any premises used for carrying on any trade or industry other than domestic sewage 
 Section 3 and 4 of the Water Act provide for the constitution of the Central Board and State Boards respectively
A State Board has been constituted under section 4 of the Water Act in the State of Uttar Pradesh
Section 16 of the Water Act sets out the functions of the Central Board and section 17 of the Water Act lays down the functions of the State Board
The functions of the Central Board are primarily advisory and supervisory in character
The Central Board is also required to advise the Central Government on any matter concerning the prevention and control of water pollution and to co ordinate the activities of the State Boards
The Central Board is also required to provide technical assistance and guidance to the State Boards carry out and sponsor investigations and research relating to problems of water pollution and prevention control or abatement of water pollution
The functions of the State Board are more comprehensive
In addition to advising the State Government on any matter concerning the prevention control or abatement of water pollution the State Board is required among other things i to plan a comprehensive programme for the prevention control or abatement of pollution of streams and wells in the State and to secure the execution thereof ii to collect and disseminate information relating to water pollution and the prevention control or abatement thereof iii to encourage conduct and participate in investigations and research relating to problems of water pollution and prevention control or abatement of water pollution iv to inspect sewage or trade effluents works and plants for the treatment of sewage and trade effluents v to review plans specifications or other data relating to plants set up for the treatment of 541 water works for the purification thereof and the system for the disposal of sewage or trade effluents or in connection with the grant of any consent as required by the Water Act vi to evolve economical and reliable methods of treatment of sewage and trade effluents having regard to the peculiar conditions of soils climate and water resources of different regions and more especially the prevailing flow characteristics of water in streams and wells which render it impossible to attain even the minimum degree of dilution and vii to lay down standards of treatment of sewage and trade effluents to be discharged into any particular stream taking into account the minimum fair weather dilution available in that stream and the tolerance limits of pollution permissible in the water of the stream after the discharge of such effluents
The State Board has been given certain executive powers to implement the provisions of the Water Act
Sections 20 21 and 23 of the Water Act confer power on the State Board to obtain information necessary for the implementation of the provisions of the Water Act to take samples of effluents and to analyse them and to follow the procedure prescribed in connection therewith and the power of entry and inspection for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the Water Act
Section 24 of the Water Act prohibits the use of stream or well for disposal of polluting matters etc
contrary to the provisions incorporated in that section
Section 32 of the Water Act confers the power on the State Board to take certain emergency measures in case of pollution of stream or well
Where it is apprehended by a Board that the water in any stream or well is likely to be polluted by reason of the disposal of any matter therein or of any likely disposal of any matter therein or otherwise the Board may under section 33 of the Water Act make an application to a court not inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class for restraining the person who is likely to cause such pollution from so causing
The Environment Protection Act 1986 which has also been referred to in out earlier judgment also contains certain provisions relating to the control prevention and abatement of pollution of water and one significant provision in that Act is what is contained in section 17 thereof which provides that where an offence under that Act is committed by any Department of Government the Head of that Department shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and is liable to be punished
It is unfortunate that although Parliament and the State Legislature have enacted the aforesaid laws imposing duties on the Central and State Boards and the municipalities for prevention and control of 542 pollution of water many of those provisions have just remained on paper without any adequate action being taken pursuant thereto
After the above petition was filed and notice was sent to the Uttar Pradesh State Board constituted under the Water Act an affidavit has been filed before this Court by Dr GN Misra Scientific officer of the UP Pollution Control Board setting out the information which the Board was able to collect regarding the measures taken by the several local bodies and also by the UP Pollution Control Board in order to prevent the pollution of the water flowing in the river Ganga
A copy of the report relating to the inspection made at Kanpur on 231187241187 by Shri Tanzar Ullah Khan Assistant Environmental Engineer and Shri AK Tiwari Junior Engineer enclosed to the counter affidavit as Exhibit K 5 reads thus The inspection made on 23118724187 alongwith Sri AK Tiwari Junior Engineer
Following are the facts observed at the time of inspection
Kanpur town is situated on the southern bank of river Ganges
The present population of the town is approximately 20 lacs
The city is covered with piped water supply
The city has developed between river Ganges on the north side and river Pandu on the south side
GT Road divides the city into two halves
In the north side most of the area is covered by sewerage system and the sullagesewage is discharged without treatment into river Ganges through 17 nalas including sewerage by pass channel at Jajmau
In the south side there is no sewerage system and the sewagesullage are discharged without treatment into river Pandu through 5 nalas
River Pandu joins river Ganges near FatehpurSketch enclosed
The Kanpur Nagar mahapalika has not yet submitted any proposal of sewage treatment works to the Board
543 6
Mr Ikramur Rahman AE Nagar Mahapalika told the Kanpur town is covered under Ganga Action Plan and following are the proposals A U P Jal Nigam 1 Re modelling of sewage pumping station at Jajmau and improvement to sewage farm
2 Nala Tapping
3 Sewage Treatment Plant
B Kanpur Jal Sansthan 1 Cleaning of Trunk and main sewers
C Integrated Environmental and sanitary Engineer project is being executed under the Dutch Assistance in Jajmau Area
1 Crash Programme is to remove deficiencies in the existing sanitary facilities 2 Laying of Industrial sewer
3 UASB Sewage Treatment Plant
Sd Sd AKTIWARI TANZAR ULLAH KHAN JE ASSTT
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER
 Appendix A1 to An Action Plan for Prevention of Pollution of the Ganga  gives the following particulars relating to the quantity of sewerage generated in the City of Kanpur which is discharged into the river Ganga and other relevant matters KANPUR Population Estimated water Estimated sewage Treatment in 1981 supply in 1981 generated 70 of the water supply to the city 544           1639 lacks 39214 million 27450 million Nil litres a day litres a day          
It is thus seen that 27450 million litres a day of sewage water is being discharged into the river Ganga from the city of Kanpur which is the highest in the State of Uttar Pradesh and next only to the city of Calcutta which discharges 580
17 million litres a day of sewage water into the river Ganga
Para 4 of the affidavit filed by Shri Jai Shanker Tewari Executive engineer of Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika reads thus 4
That the pollution in river Ganga from Kanpur is occurring because of following reasons i About 16 nalas collecting sullage water sewage textile waste power plant waste and tannery effluents used to be discharged without any treatment into the river
However some Nalas have been trapped now
ii The dairies located in the city have a cattle population of about 80000
The dung fodder waste and other refuse from this cattle population is quantitatively more than the sullage from the city of human population of over 20 lakhs
All this finds its way into the sewerage system and the nalas in the rainy season
It has also totally choked many branches of sewers and trunk sewers resulting in the overflow of the system
iii The night soil collected from the unsewered areas of the city and thrown into the nalas
iv There are more than 80 tanneries in Jajmau whose effluent used to be directly discharged into the river
v The total water supply in Kanpur is about 55 mil lion gallons per day
After use major part of it goes down the drains nalas and sewers sewage is taken to Jajmau sewage pumping station and a part of it is being supplied to sewage farms after diluting it with raw ganges water and the remaining part is discharged into the river
vi Dhobi Ghats
vii Defecation by economically weaker sections
 545 The affidavit further states that the UP Jal Nigam the UP Water Pollution Control Board the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute the Central Leather Research Institute the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika the Kanpur Development Authority and the Kanpur Jal Sansthan have started taking action to minimise the pollution of the river Ganga
It is also stated therein that the financial assistance is being provided by the Central Ganga Authority through Ganga Project Directorate State Government the World Bank the Dutch Government etc
for implementing the said measures
The said affidavit gives information about the several works undertaken at Kanpur for minimising the pollution of the river Ganga
It also states that Rs49363 lacs had been spent on those works between the years 1985 and 1987 and that the total allocation of funds by the Central Ganga Authority for Kanpur is Rs369494 lacs and that upto the end of the current financial year it is proposed to spend Rs78558 lacs 1985 to 1987 88 towards various schemes to be completed under Ganga Action Plan
The affidavit points out that in Kanpur City sewer cleaning has never been done systematically and in a planned way except that some sewers were cleaned by the UP Jal Nigam around 1970
The main reasons for mal functioning and choking of the city sewerage according to the affidavit are i throwing or discharging of solids clothes plastics metals etc
into the sewerage system ii throwing of cow dung from dairies which are located in every part of the city which consists of about 80000 cattle iii laying of under sized sewers specially in labour colonies iv throwing of solid wastes and malba from construction of buildings into sewers through manholes v non availability of mechanical equipment for sewer cleaning works and vi shortage of funds for proper maintenance
It is asserted that the discharge of untreated effluents into the river Ganga will be stopped upto 80 by March 1988
Shri MC Mehta the petitioner herein drew our attention to the Progress Report of the Ganges Action Plan July 1986 January 1987 prepared by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre Council of Scientific  Industrial Research
At page 20 of the said report the details of the analysis of the Ganga water samples collected during August 1986 to January 1987 from Uttar Pradesh region are furnished
That report shows that the pollution of the water in the river Ganga is of the highest degree at Kanpur
The Ganga water samples taken at Kanpur show that the water in the river Ganga at Kanpur consisted of 29200 units mgml of iron in the month of August 1986 when the ISI limit for river water is 03 and 0900 mgml of manganese whereas the WHO limit of manganese for drinking water is 546 005
The Progress Report for the period February 1987 June
1987 of Microlevel Intensive Monitoring of Ganga under Ganga Action Plan describes the samples of the water taken from the river Ganga at Kanpur thus BOD Bio oxygen Demand values are found to be higher than prescribed values of l
SI COD Chemical oxygen Demand values are also found to be higher
These values clearly indicate that river water is not fit for drinking fishing and bathing purposes
Table II further shows that Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform bacteria are always found very high
This is due to disposal of large quantity of untreated municipal waste into river Ganga
These high values of bacteria indicate that water is not fit for drinking bathing and fishing purpose
To improve quality of water in Ganga all nullahs should be trapped immediately and raw water should be treated conventionally at water works and disinfected by chlorination  underlining by us In the concluding part of the said Progress Report it is stated thus The Ganga is grossly polluted at Kanpur
All nullahs are discharging the polluted waste water into river Ganga
But Jajmau by pass channel Sismau Muir Mill Golf Club and Gupta Ghat nullah are discharging huge quantities of polluted waste water To improve the water quality of Ganga all major nullahs should be diverted and treated
Combined treatment should be provided for Jajmau tanneries
Effluent treatment plants should be installed by all major polluting industries
 It is needless to say that in the tropical developing countries a large amount of misery sickness and death due to infectious diseases arises out of water supplies
In Lall s Commentaries on Water and Air Pollution Laws 2nd Edition at pages 331 and 333 it is observed thus In the tropics we cannot safely take such a limited 547 view
Such Water borne diseases as malaria schistosomiasis guinea worm and yellow fever are either terrible scourges of or threats to many tropical populations
The hazards from bad water are thus much greater
Poverty is much more serious for many tropical areas in the rural areas where most people live and around the edges of the cities which are the fastest growing communities
most people cannot afford a conventionally good water supply at present and the choice in the short run may be between doing nothing and providing somewhat improved supply
If an ideal water system is not possible there are options as to what needs should be met by the partial improvements
To make the right decisions we need again the broad picture of water related diseases
So because of these two tropical characteristics warmth and poverty a wider view than in temperate lands is necessaryp331 
    
Water borne diseases The classical water borne diseases are due to highly infective organisms where only rather few are needed to infect someone relative to the levels of pollution that readily occur
The two chief ones have a high mortality if untreated and are diseases which a community is very anxious to escape Typhoid and cholera
Both are relatively fragile organisms whose sole reservoir is man
These two diseases occur most dramatically as the common source out break where a community water supply gets contaminated by faeces from d person suffering from or carrying one of the infections
Many people drink the water and a number of these fall ill from the infection at about the same time
Typhoid is the most cosmopolitan of the classical water borne infections
In man it produces a severe high fever with generated systemic more than intestinal symptoms
The bacteria are ingested and very few are sufficient to infect
The typhoid patient is usually too ill to go out polluting the water and is not infective prior o falling sick
However a small proportion of those who recover clinically continue to pass typhoid bacteria in their faeces for 548 months or years these carriers are the source of water borne infections
Gallstones predispose to the carrier state as the bacteria persist in the inflamed gall bladder
In the tropics lesions of Schistosoma haematobium in the bladder also act as nide of infection producing urinary typhoid carriers whilst rectal schistosomiasis combined with typhoid leads to a persistent sever fever lasting many months
Typhoid bacteria survive well in water but do not multiply there
Cholera is in some ways similar to typhoid but its causative bacteria are more fragile and the clinical course is extremely dramatic
In classical cholera the onset of diarrhoea is sudden and its volume immense so that the untreated victim has a high probability of dying from dehydration within 24 hours or little more
Several other infections are water borne but are less important than typhoid and cholera
Leptospirosis due to a spirochaete has its reservoir in wild rodents which pollute the water
Leptospis can penetrate the skin as well as being ingested
They produce jaundice and fever called Weil s disease which is severe but not common  The amount of suffering which the members of the public are likely to undergo by using highly polluted water can be easily gathered from the above extract
In the book entitled Water Pollution and disposal of Waste Water on Land  1983 by UN Mahida
ISE Retd the problem of water pollution the benefits of control of pollution and the urgency of the problem have been dealt with
At pages l 2 4 and S of the said book it is observed thus As long as the human population was small and communities were scattered over large areas of land the disposal of human wastes created no problems
People could defecate in areas surrounding villages and other habitations and leave it to nature to dispose of the waste by assimilation in the surrounding land and air
But as communities became more concentrated and villages and towns grew such a mode of disposal by natural agencies came to be replaced by organised disposal though again through 549 the agency of natural land and soil columns
The collection of human excreta and its disposal in earthen trenches was resorted to by many towns and adopted the basket privy system
The introduction of a system of water borne sewage created new problems in the disposal of human wastes as now along with the earlier problem of getting rid of solid wastes ie human excreta the problem of the disposal of the water employed for the removal of human wastes had also to be faced
This was the origin of the problem of sewage disposal
At first the natural instinct was to channelize the sewage the soiled water to natural streams and rivers
For a time this mode of disposal was even considered quite efficacious
Such methods did not create difficulties as sewage discharges were small as compared to the stream flow
But with the increased discharge of progressively large quantities of sewage polluted streams became a serious menace to public health
NATURE OF THE PROBLEM The introduction of modern water carriage systems transferred the sewage disposal from the streets and the surroundings of townships to neighbouring streams and rivers
This was the beginning of the problem of water pollution
It is ironic that man from the earliest times has tended to dispose of his wastes in the very streams and rivers from which most of his drinking water is drawn
Until quite recently this was not much of a problem but with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation the problem of the pollution of natural waters is reaching alarming proportions
The most disturbing feature of this mode of disposal is that those who cause water pollution are seldom the people who suffer from it
Cities and industries discharge their untreated or only partially treated sewage and industrial waste waters into neighbouring streams and thereby remove waste matter from their own neighbourhood
But in doing so they create intense pollution in streams and rivers and expose the downstream riparian population to dangerously unhygienic conditions
In addition to the with 550 drawal of water for downstream towns and cities in many developing countries numerous villages and riparian agricultural population generally rely on streams and rivers for drinking water for themselves and their cattle for cooking bathing washing and numerous other uses
It is thus riparian population that specially needs protection from the growing menace of water pollution
pages 1 and 2         
BENEFITS OF CONTROL The benefits which result from the prevention of water pollution include a general improvement in the standard of health of the population the possibility of restoring stream waters to their original beneficial state and rendering them fit as sources of water supply and the maintenance of clean and healthy surroundings which would then offer attractive recreational facilities
Such measures would also restore fish and other aquatic life
Apart from its menace to health polluted water considerably reduces the water resources of a nation
Since the total amount of a country s utilisable water remains essentially the same and the demand for water is always increasing schemes for the prevention of water pollution should wherever possible make the best use of treated waste waters either in industry or agriculture
Very often such processes may also result in other benefits in addition to mere reuse
The application of effluents on agricultural land supplies not only much needed water to growing crops but also manurial ingredients the recovery of commercially valuable ingredients during the treatment of industrial waste waters often yields by products which may to some extent offset the cost of treatment If appropriate financial credits could be calculated in respect of these and other incidental benefits it would be apparent that measures for the prevention of pollution are not unduly costly and are within the reach of all nations advanced or developing
It is fortunate that people are be coming more receptive to the idea of sharing the financial burden for lessening pollution
It is now recognised in most 551 countries that it is the responsibility of industries to treat their trade wastes in such a way that they do not deteriorate the quality of the receiving waters which otherwise would make the utilisation of such polluted waters very difficult or costly for downstream settlers
URGENCY OF THE PROBLEM The crucial question is not whether developing countries can afford such measures for the control of water pollution but it is whether they can afford to neglect them
The importance of the latter is emphasised by the fact that in the absence of adequate measures for the prevention or control of water pollution a nation would eventually be confronted with far more onerous burdens to secure wholesome and adequate supplies of water for different purposes
If developing countries embark on suitable pollution prevention policies during the initial stages of their industrialisation they can avoid the costly mistakes committed in the past by many developed countries
It is however unfortunate that the importance of controlling pollution is generally not realised until considerable damage has already been done Pages 3 and 4 In common law the Municipal Corporation can be restrained by an injunction in an action brought by a reparian owner who has suffered on account of the pollution of the water in a river caused by the Corporation by discharging into the river insufficiently treated sewage from discharging such sewage into the river
In Pride of Derby and Derbyshire Angling Association vs British Celanese Ltd 19531 Chancery 149 the second defendant the Derby Corporation admitted that it had polluted the plaintiff s fishery in the River Derwent by discharging into it insufficiently treated sewage but claimed that by the Derby Corporation Act 1901 it was under a duty to provide a sewerage system and that the system which had accordingly been provided had become inadequate solely from the increase in the population of Derby
The Court of Appeal held that it was not inevitable that the work constructed under the Act of 1901 should cause a nuisance and that in any case the Act on its true construction did not authorise the commission of a nuisance
The petitioner in the case before us is no doubt not a riparian owner
He is a person interested in protecting the lives of the people who make use of the water flowing in the river Ganga and his right to maintain the petition cannot be dis 552 puted
The nuisance caused by the pollution of the river Ganga is a public nuisance which is wide spread in range and indiscriminate in its effect and it would not be reasonable to expect any particular person lo take proceedings to stop it as distinct from the community at large
The petition has been entertained as a Public Interest Litigation
On the facts and in the circumstances of the case we are of the view that the Petitioner is entitled to move this Court in order to enforce the statutory provisions which impose duties on the municipal authorities and the Boards constituted under the Water Act
We have already set out the relevant provisions of the statute which impose those duties on the authorities concerned
On account of their failure to obey the statutory duties for several years the water in the river Ganga at Kanpur has become so much polluted that it can no longer be used by the people either for drinking or for bathing
The Nagar Mahapalika of Kanpur has to bear the major responsibility for the pollution of the river near Kanpur city
It is no doubt true that the construction of certain works has been undertaken under the Ganga Action Plan at Kanpur in order to improve the sewerage system and to prevent pollution of the water in the river Ganga
But as we see from the affidavit filed on behalf of the authorities concerned in this case the works are going on at a snail s pace
We find from the affidavits filed on behalf of the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika that certain target dates have been fixed for the completion of the works already undertaken
We expect the authorities concerned to complete those works within the target dates mentioned in the counter affidavit and not to delay the completion of the works beyond those dates
It is however noticed that the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika has not yet submitted its proposals for sewage treatment works to the State Board constituted under the Water Act
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should submit its proposals to the State Board within six months from today
It is seen that there is a large number of dairies in Kanpur in which there are about 80000 cattle
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should take action under the provisions of the Adhiniyam or the relevant bye laws made thereunder to prevent the pollution of the water in the river Ganga on account of the waste accumulated at the dairies
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika may either direct the dairies to be shifted to a place outside the city so that the waste accumulated at the dairies does not ultimately reach the river Ganga or in the alternative it may arrange for the removal of such waste by employing motor vehicles to transport such waste from the existing dairies in which even 553 the owners of the dairies cannot claim any compensation
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should immediately take action to prevent the collection of manure at private manure pits inside the city
The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should take immediate steps to increase the size of the sewers in the labour colonies so that the sewage may be carried smoothly through the sewerage system
Wherever sewerage line is not yet constructed steps should be taken to lay it
Immediate action should also be taken by the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika to construct sufficient number of public latrines and urinals for the use of the poor people in order to prevent defecation by them on open land
The proposal to levy any charge for making use of such latrines and urinals shall be dropped as that would be a reason for the poor people not using the public latrines and urinals
The cost of maintenance of cleanliness of those latrines and urinals has to be borne by the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika
It is submitted before us that whenever the Board constituted under the Water Act initiates any proceedings to prosecute industrialists or other persons who pollute the water in the river Ganga the persons accused of the offences immediately institute petitions under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 in the High Court and obtain stay orders thus frustrating the attempt of the Board to enforce the provisions of the Water Act
They have not placed before us the facts of any particular case
We are however of the view that since the problem of pollution of the water in the river Ganga has become very acute the High Courts should not ordinarily grant orders of stay of criminal proceedings in such cases and even if such an order of stay is made in any extra ordinary case the High Courts should dispose of the case within a short period say about two months from the date of the institution of such case
We request the High Courts to take up for hearing all the cases where such orders have been issued under sections 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 staying prosecutions under the Water Act within two months
The counsel for the Board constituted under the Water Act shall furnish a list of such cases to the Registrar of the concerned High Court for appropriate action being taken thereon
One other aspect to which our attention has been drawn is the practice of throwing corpses and semi burnt corpses into the river Ganga
This practice should be immediately brought to an end
The co operation of the people and police should be sought in enforcing 554 this restriction
Steps shall be taken by the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika and the Police authorities to ensure that dead bodies or half burnt bodies are not thrown into the river Ganga
Whenever applications for licences to establish new industries are made in future such applications shall be refused unless adequate provision has been made for the treatment of trade effuents flowing out of the factories
immediate action should be taken against the existing industries if they are found responsible tor pollution of water
Having regard to the grave consequences of the pollution of water and air and the need for protecting and improving the natural environment which is considered to be one of the fundamental duties under the Constitution vide Clause g of Article 51A of the Constitution we are of the view that it is the duty of the Central Government to direct all the educational institutions throughout India to teach atleast for one hour in a week lessons relating to the protection and the improvement of the natural environment including forests lakes L livers and wild life in the first ten classes
The Central Government shall get text books written for the said purpose and distribute them to the educational institutions free of cost
Children should be taught about the need for maintaining cleanliness commencing with the cleanliness of the house both inside and outside and of the streets in which they live
Clean surroundings lead to healthy body and healthy mind
Training of teachers who teach this subject by the introduction of short term courses for such training shall also be considered
This should be done throughout India
In order to rouse amongst the people the consciousness of cleanliness of environment the Government of India and the Governments 1
Of the States and of the Union Territories may consider the desirability of organising Keep the city clean  week Nagar Nirrnalikarana Saptaha Keep the town clean week Pura Nirmalikarana saptaha and Keep the village clean week Grama Nirmalikarna Saptaha in every city town and village throughout India at least once a year
During that week the entire city town or village should be kept as far as possible clean tidy and free from pollution of land water and air
The organisation of the week should be entrusted to the Nagar Mahapalikas Municipal Corporations Town Municipalities Village Panchayats or such other local authorities having jurisdiction over the area in question
If the authorities decide to organise such a week it may not be celebrated in the same week throughout India but may he staggered depending upon the convenience of the particular city town 555 or village
During that week all the citizens including the members of the executive members of Parliament and the State Legislatures members of the judiciary may be requested to co operate with the local authorities and to take part in the celebrations by rendering free personal service
This would surely create a national awareness of the problems faced by the people by the appalling all round deterioration of the environment which we are witnessing today
We request the Ministry of Environment of the Government of India to give a serious consideration to the above suggestion
What we have stated above applies mutatis mutandis to all other Mahapalikas and Municipalities which have jurisdiction over the areas through which the river Ganga flows
Copies of this judgment shall be sent to all such Nagar Mahapalikas and Municipalities
The case against the Nagar Mahapalikas and Municipalities in the state of Uttar Pradesh shall stand adjourned by six months
Within that time all the Nagar Mahapalikas and Municipalities in the State of Uttar Pradesh through whose areas the river Ganga flows shall file affidavits in this Court explaining the various steps they have taken for the prevention of pollution of the water in the river Ganga in the light of the above judgment
The case as against the several industries in the State of Uttar Pradesh which are located on the banks of the river Ganga will he taken up for hearing on the 9th of February 1988
L Petition disposed of


Summary:
 These appeals and Petitions for Special Leave raised a common question of law regarding the scope and effect of Explanation 11 A to clause 25 of section 2 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act 1964 as amended by Act 17 of 1972
What fell for consideration was whether by reason of Explanation Il A to section 225 of the Act a person in occupation of a homestead or a hut belonging to another during the period stipulated in the Explanation would become a Kudikidappukaran and be entitled to Kudikidappu rights under the Act
Allowing Civil Appeal No 3045 of 1980 allowing CA No 2505 of 1977 partly and dismissing the Petitions for Special leave the Court  HELD The contentions of the parties in these cases had to be examined in the conspectus of the several amendments made by the legislature to section 225 of the Act and the decisions rendered by the Kerala High Court669C Explanation Il A has been made a non obstante provision in order to give over riding effect to the Explanation over any judgment
decree or order of any court passed against a person who was on 16868 in occupation of a homestead or hut thereon and who continued to be in such occupation till the 1st day of January 1970
The Legislature has by introducing Explanation II A done away with any reference to occupation being referable to any permission granted by the owner of the land or the hut as the case may be
Not only had the Legislature eschewed any reference to permissive occupation but had also given a mandate that every one in actual occupation of any land and the dwelling house thereon between 16868 and 1170 irrespective of who built the dwelling place should be granted recognition as a Kudikidappukaran
By reason of this explicit provision there was no scope whatever restricting the class of person entitled to the benefit of Explanation Il A to only those who were able to prove obtainment of initial permission to 662 occupy a homestead or a hut thereon
Explanation II A equates an occupant of a homestead or a hut thereon during the relevant period with a Kudikidappukaran as defined under the main clause
Such being the case anyone satisfying the requirements of Explanation II A would automatically be entitled to have the status of a Kudikidappukaran and to all the benefits flowing therefrom
In other words a person falling under Explanation II A has to be statutorily deemed as one permitted to occupy a homestead or the hut thereon as envisaged in sub clauses a and b of clause 25 of section 2
The only limitation placed by explanation Il A is that a person falling within the terms of the definition should satisfy the conditions laid down by the proviso to the Explanation viz that if he or his predecessor had not constructed the dwelling house the house should not costwise exceed Rs750 or rentwise exceed a monthly rent of Rs5 and the occupant should not be in possession of land exceeding three cents in extent in any city or major municipality or five cents in any other municipality or ten cents in any panchayat area or township either as owner or as a tenant on which he could erect a building
Viewed in the proper perspective Explanation II A constitutes a second limb of clause 25 of section 2 to give full effect to its intendment viz entitling a person to Kudikidappu rights under section 225 if he proves initial permission to occupy the land and the dwelling house without the need of proving continuous possession during a prescribed period of time or in the alternative to claim Kudikidappu rights under Explanation lI A by proving continuous occupation during the period of time prescribed by the Explanation without the necessity of proving obtainment of initial permission to occupy the land and the dwelling house thereon
Explanation II A has got operative force of its own which may be seen from the fact that clause 25 of section 2 as well as sub clause b of the proviso to Explanation II A lay down identical conditions which are to be satisfied by an applicant under the main clause or the Explanation for claiming rights as a Kudikidappukaran
If the Explanation was sub servient to section 225 there was no need for the Legislature to have provided sub clause b of the proviso to Explanation II A
There was no repugnancy between the two provisions because section 225 pertains to occupants of homesteads of one category while Explanation II A pertains to homestead occupants of a different category
670A H 671A G The Kerala Land Reforms Act was a beneficial enactment intended to secure occupancy rights to farmers and agricultural labourers who did not have homestead lands and dwelling places of their own for their occupation
In the case of beneficial enactments the courts should follow a policy of benevolent and liberal construction
Even if 663 there was any little room for doubt whether Explanation II A could go to the extent of conferring Kudikidappu rights on persons who were not able to prove their lawful entry upon the land and the occupation of the dwelling house it had to be held that the Explanation had been specifically provided for giving greater thrust to the intendment of the legislature and therefore the Explanation warranted a liberal and purposive interpretation so as to fulfil the object of the legislation and comply with the legislative intent
1672G H 673G H 674A The attention of the Court was drawn to a judgment of this Court in Palayi Kizhakkekara Methai s son K M Mathew and anr
vs Pothiyill Mommutty s son Hamsa Haji  Ors CA No 165 of 1974 etc
JT  but the Court found no conflict between the view taken by the Court in these appeals and the view taken by this court in CA No 165 of 1974 etc
675C 676E In CA No 3045 of 1980 the appellant was in possession of a hut from 1982 onwards nevertheless his claim for Kudikidappu rights under Explanation II A was rejected as he was not able to prove grant of permission to him by the respondent for occupying the hut
Since it has been held by the Court that a claimant for Kudikidappu rights under Explanation II A who did not suffer any disqualification under the proviso needed only to prove the factum of possession between the prescribed dates for being placed on par with a Kudikidappukaran as defined in section 225 of the Act the appeal had to succeed with order of the Land Tribunal restored
676F H In the CA No 2505 of 1977 the appellant claimed Kudikidappu rights in respect of two sheds set out in A  B Schedules
The appellant was not entitled to any relief in respect of the A schedule property because it had been concurrently found by all the courts that he had taken the shed on lease in the year 1954 under rent chit and that the shed continued to be in existence and it had not been rebuilt by the appellant
In respect of the schedule shed the appellant had been denied relief solely on the ground that he had failed to prove grant of permission by the respondent and his predecessor in title to occupy the homestead and put up the shed
In view of the factum of occupation of the schedule property during the period envisaged by Explanation II A the appellant was entitled to a decree in respect of the schedule property
Appeal was partly allowed in respect of the schedule property and the case remitted to the Land Tribunal for determining the price of the schedule property and for directions etc677A D 664 The Petitions for Special Leave failed because it had been concurrently found that the sheds occupied by the respondent in each case were included in the property leased to the petitioner though possession was allowed to be retained by the respondents and as such the respondents were entitled to claim Kudikidappu rights under Explanation II A
As the respondents had been inducted into possession of the huts by the owner of the land and as the lease granted to the petitioner comprised the sheds occupied by the respondents also the petitioner could not contend that the respondents were not entitled to seek the sale of ten cents of land adjoining each hut under section 80 of the Act
677E F Velayudhan vs Aishabi AIR 1981 Kerala 185 Gopalan vs Chellamma  Mariam and others vs Ouseph Xavier  Achutan vs Narayani Amma 1980 KLT 160 AIR 1980 NOC 90 Moideen Kuktty vs Gopalan  East End Dwelling Co Ltd vs Finsbary Borough Council M K Venkatachalam vs Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co Ltd   Commissioner of Income Tax Delhi vs Teja Singh AIR 1959 SC 355 Industrial Supplies Pvt Ltd vs Union of India 1980 IV SCC 341 Jeewanlal  Ors
vs Appellate Authority 119841 4 SCC 356 Bharat Singh vs Management of New Delhi Tuberculosis Centre New Delhi  Ors   Sonawari  Ors
vs Shri Ram  Anr 1968 1 SCR 617 Azad Singh  Ors
vs Barkat Ullah Khan  ors
   Shri Prithvi Cotton Mills Ltd  Anr vs Broach Borough Municipality  Ors 19701 1 SCR 388 Hari Singh  Ors
vs The Military Estate Officer  Anr   D Cawassi  Co Mysore vs State of Mysore  Anr  and Palavi Kizhakkekara Mathaiy s son K M Mathew  Anr
vs Pothiyill Mommitty s son Hamsa Haji  Ors JT  referred to