Supreme Court passes buck to NGT over cleaning up river Ganga

When an angry Supreme Court bench in April last year said it would like to monitor the progress made in efforts to clean up the Ganga and asked for a roadmap from the Modi government, it was seen as an earnest effort from the country's highest court to prod a sluggish central government into action.

"We get to know that Rs 2,000 crore has already gone down the drain and the river is still polluted. Fortunately, money is not a problem for the government. But we want to see results on the ground. Show us the output which can be objectively verified. Are you serious about completing the clean-up exercise during your current tenure or want to keep it alive as a poll issue for the next general elections also," a bench headed by then Chief Justice T S Thakur had asked the government during the last hearing of the PIL, filed by environmental crusader M C Mehta way back in 1985 seeking SC's intervention on cleaning of the river and setting up sewage treatment plants alongside it.

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SC PASSES BUCK TO NGT

But on Tuesday, after 32 years during which 108 hearings were held, a bench headed by Khehar brought the PIL hearing in SC to an abrupt end without pronouncing any order. It had only passed some interim directions in 1987 and 1988. The bench told Mehta that it was transferring the PIL to the National Green Tribunal which was already seized of the issue saying only that the green body was capable of periodically monitoring the matter.

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"For us, to monitor week after week, months after months, it is difficult...it can go there (NGT) and if you have a problem you can come back to us," it said.

"The entire issue is of monitoring now. We have passed an order long ago. That way NGT is a better body...the enforcement mechanism is with NGT now. The NGT Act provided for penalty and other penal provisions in case of non-compliance of the tribunal's orders?" said CJI Khehar. "The issue relating to the river development and Ganga rejuvenation, including discharge of municipal waste and industrial waste, is already being heard by the NGT. So, we transfer the instant petition to the tribunal and the entire proceedings pertaining to the cleaning of the river shall be placed before the NGT."

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