Kochi: In an attempt to curb the pollution in river Pampa, Kerala High Court on Thursday held that those who throw clothes to the river would be sentenced to an imprisonment of 18 months as per the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
A division bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Shivaraman issued the directive while dealing with the Devaswom matters and Sabarimala issues.
“There is absolutely no practice or usage or religious beliefs which advise that a person after having darshan should discard clothes and other belongings,” the court observed.
It asked both the state and central pollution control boards, district collectors having jurisdiction over all areas through Pampa flows, including Sabarimala, and Sabarimala Special Commissioner to take necessary steps to comply with the court order. The state government was also asked to publicise the court order effectively.
“Abundant materials before the court, including the Pollution Control Board reports, suggest that Pampa is increasingly being polluted owing to different reasons.
Aggressive pollution reduction mechanism should be put in place to control pollution. Discarding any clothes of materials, whether bio-degradable or not, into the Pampa waters would be violation of Section 24 of the Water Act and a minimum sentence of imprisonment of 18 months is mentioned in the Act.
The court also directed the PCB to ensure that no person violates the provisions of the law. It asked the police to provide adequate assistance to the PCB officials.
