ASSIGNMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

WATER POLLUTION

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO
YASH MISS NEELAM KADYAN
ROLL NO 948
 INTRODUCTION
Water is one of the most vital natural resources on earth and
has been around for a long time. In fact, the same water
which we drink has been around in one form or the other
since the time of the dinosaurs. The earth has more than
two-thirds of its surface covered with water. This translates
to just over 1 octillion litre.

(1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres) of water distributed

in the oceans, rivers, lakes and streams. That is a lot of water;
however, less than 0.3% is accessible for human
consumption. As commercialization and industrialization
have progressed, that number continues to dwindle down.
Furthermore, inefficient and outdated practices, lack of
awareness and a plethora of other circumstances have led to
water pollution.

EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

The effect of water pollution depends upon the type of
pollutants and its concentration. Also, the location of water
bodies is an important factor to determine the levels of
pollution.
Water bodies in the vicinity of urban areas are extremely
polluted. This is the result of dumping garbage and the toxic
chemicals by industrial and commercial establishments.
Water pollution drastically affects aquatic life. It affects their
metabolism, behaviour, causes illness and eventual death.
Dioxin is a chemical that causes a lot of problems from
reproduction to uncontrolled cell growth or cancer. This
chemical is bio accumulated in fish, chicken and meat.
Chemicals such as this travel up the food chain before
entering the human body.

The effect of water pollution can have a huge impact on the

food chain. It disrupts the food-chain. Cadmium and lead are
some toxic substances, these pollutants upon entering the
food chain through animals (fish when consumed by animals,
humans) can continue to disrupt at higher levels.

Humans are affected by pollution and can contract diseases

such as hepatitis through faecal matter in water sources.
Poor drinking water treatment and unfit water can always
cause an outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera, etc.
The ecosystem can be critically affected, modified and
restructured because of water pollution.

The NITI Aayog released the results of a study warning that

India is facing its ‘worst’ water crisis in history and that
demand for potable water will outstrip supply by 2030 if
steps are not taken. Nearly 600 million Indians faced high to
extreme water stress and about 2, 00,000 people died every
year due to inadequate access to safe water. Twenty-one
cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad will
run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million
people, the study noted. If matters are to continue, there will
be a 6% loss in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
by 2050, the report says. 70% contaminated.

Moreover, critical groundwater resources, which accounted

for 40% of India’s water supply, is being depleted at
“unsustainable” rates and up to 70% of India’s water supply
is “contaminated,” the report says. The NITI Aayog
observations are part of a study that ranked 24 States on
how well they managed their water. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh took the top three spots, in that order,
and Jharkhand, Bihar and Haryana came in last in the ‘Non-
Himalayan States’ category. Himachal Pradesh which is facing
one of its worst water crises this year — led a separate 8-
meber list of States clubbed together as ‘North-Eastern and
Himalayan.’ These two categories were made to account for
different hydrological conditions across the two groups.
States’ category. Himachal Pradesh — which is facing one of
its worst water crises this year — led a separate 8-member
list of States clubbed together as ‘North-Eastern and
Himalayan.’ These two categories were made to account for
different hydrological conditions Envisioned as an annual
exercise, the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI),
to evaluate States, has been developed by the NITI Aayog
and comprises 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators
covering various aspects of groundwater, restoration of
water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy
and governance. “While Jharkhand and Rajasthan may have
scored l ow, they have made remarkable improvement when
compared over two years,” said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI
Aayog.
Himachal Pradesh — which is facing one of its worst water
crises this year — led a separate 8-member list of States
clubbed together as ‘North-Eastern and Himalayan.’ These
two categories were made to account for different
hydrological conditions across the two groups.

LOW PERFORMERS
About 60% of the States were marked as “low performers”
and this was cause for “alarm,” according to the report.
Many of the States that performed badly on the index —
Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh — accounted for 20-30%
of India’s agricultural output. “Given the combination of
rapidly declining groundwater levels and limited policy
action…this is likely to be a significant food security risk for
the country,” the report says. On the other hand, the index
noted, several of the high and medium performers —
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Telangana — had faced droughts in recent
years.

Therefore, a lack of water was not necessary grounds for

States not initiating action on conservation. Most of the gains
registered by the States were due to their restoration of
surface water bodies, watershed development activities and
rural water supply provision. Envisioned as an annual
exercise, the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI),
to evaluate States, has been developed by the NITI Aayog and
comprises 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators
covering various aspects of groundwater, restoration of
water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy
and governance. “While Jharkhand and Rajasthan may have
scored l ow, they have made remarkable improvement when
compared over two years,” said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI
Aayog.

Other experts said that unless India woke up to its water

crisis, disaster loomed. “There is great awareness now about
air pollution, however, India’s water crisis does not get that
kind of attention,” said Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI
Aayog.
 RIGHT TO CLEAN: WATER A FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHT
The Indian Judiciary has initiated a positive step, with the
view of controlling pollution of water. Under the Indian
Constitution, the judiciary has given a liberal interpretation
to article 21 of the Constitution of India and included the
right to clean water and environment under the ambit of
article 21, Article 48, article 51G of the Constitution of India.
Various judicial decisions throughout the history of
Fundamental Rights have paved a way to the broad concept
of Right to Life. The judiciary had propounded that the Right
to clean water comes under the ambit of the right to life and
hence the scope of Article 21, Article 48 and Article 51(g) can
include the right to clean water. In the case of Narmada
Bachao Andolan vs The Union of India, the Supreme Court,
held that the right to clean water is a fundamental right
under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The court had
observed that right to clean water is a part of the basic
necessity of the human’s right to life.

The state is duty bound to prevent the water from getting

polluted. In the leading case of M C Mehta vs. The Union of
India, the court held that the preventing the water of river
Ganga from being polluted is the need of the hour.

CONTROL MEASURES OF WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution, to a larger extent, can be controlled by a

variety of methods. Rather than releasing sewage waste into
water bodies, it is better to treat them before discharge.
Practising this can reduce the initial toxicity and the
remaining substances can be degraded and rendered
harmless by the water body itself. I f the secondary
treatment of water has been carried out, and then this can
be reused in sanitary systems and agricultural fields.

A very special plant, the Water Hyacinth can absorb dissolved

toxic chemicals such as cadmium and other such elements.
Establishing these in regions prone to such kinds of pollutants
will reduce the adverse effects to a large extent.