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The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Agra Nagar Nigam to pay an environmental compensation of ₹58.39 crore for polluting the Yamuna with untreated sewage, underscoring the severity of environmental degradation in the river due to municipal negligence.
SC said that ‘hell’ has been created in the river. (Vipin Kumar/HT photo)
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud expressed strong disapproval, observing that the civic authorities have “created a hell” by allowing untreated effluents to pollute the Yamuna.
“These findings are very disturbing. These people have created a hell. You have done nothing. All rivers are getting polluted because of such indiscriminate discharge in rivers,” said the CJI, leading the bench that also comprised justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
Referring to findings from the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) April order, which documented the failure of existing sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Agra, the top court pointed out that municipal bodies cannot evade accountability for failing to comply with environmental standards.
The NGT order had noted that, among 90 drains, only 21 were fully tapped, while eight were partially and 61 entirely untapped, resulting in untreated sewage flowing directly into the Yamuna.
“Forget about new STPs, your existing STPs are not even meeting the minimum standards. The NGT notes from the 2023 CPCB report. Untreated effluents are simply getting discharged in rivers,” the bench lamented.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Agra Nagar Nigam, argued that delays in new STP installations were due to pending approvals for tree-cutting applications before the court and the NGT for over four years. He added that efforts were underway to mitigate the pollution.
However, the bench remained unimpressed, observing: “We don’t see steps being taken. This is all very serious. Rivers and water bodies across the country are getting severely polluted like this. We are concerned this is happening across the country.”
The bench ultimately dismissed Agra Nagar Nigam’s appeal against the NGT’s environmental compensation directive. “You must pay compensation. After all, it will be used for remediation and restoration of environment,” it added.
However, it overruled the NGT’s finding that the alleged environmental violations should be treated as offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Supreme Court clarified that the tribunal’s mandate did not extend to ordering the registration of offences under the anti-money laundering law.
The NGT’s April 24 order had directed Agra Nagar Nigam to deposit the compensation with the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) within three months. It held that under the “polluter pays” principle, civic bodies responsible for drainage management must bear liability for environmental harm. This responsibility, the NGT said, is shared with any third-party agencies operating STPs under the municipality’s jurisdiction where violations occur.
“There is massive violation of environmental laws at Agra where huge quantity of untreated sewage is not meeting the parameters prescribed under Water Act 1974… and the same is being directly discharged in River Yamuna, causing huge pollution of the river water,” the April order held. It further criticised Agra Nagar Nigam for failing to install new STPs since 2014, highlighting that its duty to prevent environmental damage could not be shifted onto operating agencies.
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