Bombay High Court demands solution to coastal pollution

Mumbai: Terming the sea throwing up tonnes of garbage along Marine Drive during high tide a “serious problem”, the Bombay high court has asked the state government and the city civic body to come up with a solution to the problem. The Bombay high court on Monday directed senior officials of the ministry of environment and the municipal corporation to remain present in court on August 10 and inform the court what immediate steps would be taken in light of the July 13 incident where nine tonnes of debris washed up at Marine Drive.

A division bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla was hearing a PIL filed months ago by a city-based NGO “Citizens Circle for Social Welfare and Education”, highlighting the pollution of Mumbai’s coastline. The petitioner’s lawyer Shehzad Naqvi pointed out that nearly 9,000 tonnes of debris and garbage had been kicked out of the sea along the Marine Drive promenade on July 13.

“This is a serious issue. What is the solution to this? There is so much of garbage, debris and sewage discharged into the sea. The civic body will have to do something about this,” the bench said.

The bench directed senior officials of the ministry of environment and the BMC to remain present in court on August 10 and inform the court what immediate steps they were planning to take to deal with the pollution of coastal water. The bench directed both authorities to file a detailed affidavit replying to the issues raised in the petition and putting forth their views on what the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) stated in its affidavit.

The MPCB, in its affidavit in reply to the petition, blamed the discharge of untreated industrial effluents and also the discharge of municipal solid waste and plastic waste by the general public and slums. The MPCB said that it had issued a letter to the BMC regarding inadequate sewage treatment facilities and non-compliance with the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.