Gujarat HC rebukes AMC over Sabarmati pollution, STPs, waterlogging

Updated: Jul 9th, 2024


The Gujarat High Court heavily came down on Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the Municipal Commissioner M Thennarasan on July 8 during the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the pollution in the Sabarmati River.

“It seems that the AMC is not taking this matter seriously. Either you do not understand what we are trying to say or the AMC does not want to do the job responsibly,” said the bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi.

“AMC works 3-4 days before the court’s date of submitting the affidavit, it seems they don’t want to clean Sabarmati River. We are doing the job which the corporation should do. Your incorrect numbers prove that you are not sincere enough,” rebuked the HC.

The Gujarat High Court also demanded a report from the AMC commissioner regarding the Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) and task force inspection.

The Gujarat HC expressed its disappointment after Court Assistant Hemang Shah pointed out contradictions between the Gujarat Pollution Control Board’s (GPCB) report and the AMC’s affidavit.

In the AMC’s affidavit, it said that each of the city’s STP was functional 100% whereas the GPCB report states the deteriorated condition of the Vasna and Pirana STP plants.

The report also noted that most of the norms are not being followed by the STPs, and sewage water is being bypassed directly into the Sabarmati River.

Sewage water

The court asked the AMC officials how they plan to stop the bypass of untreated water from the STP. The court further stated that if the bypass is stopped, it would expose the poor condition of the STP.

“Streets of Ahmedabad will be flooded with sewage water one day,” warned the HC.

The court further questioned the silence of the AMC officials on the matter and asked them to stop misleading the court, accept their mistake and take steps to rectify it.

Dead fishes in Sabarmati River

During the hearing, Shah drew the court’s attention to a crucial issue that the water of the Sabarmati River has become polluted. 

“It is not being cleaned or maintained properly. Due to this countless fish are dying in the river. The AMC authorities are trying to save the fish by releasing oxygen through oxygen tanks at five to seven places in the river, but it is like a ventilator. The Sabarmati River is so big and long, how much will five oxygen tanks work in it? Purity and cleanliness of Sabarmati River is important and this work will be possible only through phase-wise work,” said the court assistant.

The High Court also made critical remarks to the AMC regarding the waterlogging in the city during the recent rains. The court said, “You are not able to properly maintain your STPs nor are you able to maintain proper infrastructure or management in the city. The city gets flooded with water even after one day of rain. You should still show seriousness and do result-oriented work.”

Also read:

AMC discharges untreated sewage into Sabarmati, reveals GPCB report

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