Water Pollution And River Protection Laws In India: A Critical Analysis With Special Reference To The Ganga Action Plan
- IJLLR Journal
- 22 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Deepika, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (School of Law)
ABSTRACT
Water pollution remains one of the acute environmental challenges confronting India, posing severe threats to public health, ecological sustainability, and socio-economic stability. Rivers in India, historically cherish as lifelines of civilization, are increasingly burdened by untreated sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and unregulated urban expansion. Despite a comprehensive statutory framework, including the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, the enforcement of water protection laws remains structurally weak and administratively shattered. The crisis is most visible in the degradation of the Ganga River, a river of immense ecological, cultural, and economic significance.
One of the most important river conservation program in India was the Ganga Action Plan, which was introduced by the government in 1985 to the country's increasing pollution levels. While the idea of the program was to resolve the pollution affecting the rivers and water its, implementation was tortured by institutional inefficiency, lack of scientific planning, inadequate monitoring, and poor coordination between central and state authorities. Though, sustained investment, pollution indicators such as Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels and coliform counts remain alarming in several stretches of the river.
This article critically examines the evolution of water pollution control laws in India, its constitutional foundations are under Article 21, 48A, and 51A(g) and the role of judicial activism in supporting environmental governance. Additionally, it evaluates the structural and functional flaws in the Ganga Action Plan and compares India’s approach to river restoration plans in the US, UK, EU and France. The study comes to the conclusion that while India has developed environmental legislation, its effectiveness legislation, its effectiveness is undermined by weak enforcement and disjointed governance. The report concludes with recommendations for strengthening river basin management, establishing integrated and science driven restoration programs, and enhancing regulatory accountability.
