It is the responsibility of authorities to keep Periyar clean, says HC

Kerala High Court emphasizes authorities' responsibility to keep Periyar clean, highlighting importance of clean water as fundamental right.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that the Periyar is kept clean.

A Bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice M.B. Snehalatha, while recently hearing petitions by Green Action Force and Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi, observed that prima facie, if the river was still polluted, then it meant that someone was not doing their job properly. “Certainly, it is for us to verify why it is so and to rectify it within the ambit of the jurisdiction vested in the Bench,” the court said.

It added that clean water, clean air, and liveable spaces, were not merely human rights, but fundamental rights within “the purlieus of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” The Periyar quenches the thirst of many cities and towns, particularly that of Kochi, and, therefore, there is an added responsibility on the authorities to ensure that it is kept clean.

The court pointed out that there were incidents of mass destruction of aquarian life, especially fish, and, obviously, if it was true, it was “a worriment” which the authorities ought to have dealt with quickly.

The court directed the State government to file a report specifically delineating the authorities who were vested with the responsibility of the river as also the officials who were nominated and appointed as custodians/officers in charge of its being.