The Supreme Court has warned of a possible CBI investigation into alleged illegal mining and environmental violations in Rajasthan, criticising authorities for failing to protect the Jojari, Bandi and Luni river ecosystem.

The Supreme Court has slammed the Rajasthan government over the alleged illegal mining along the Jojari-Bandi-Luni river ecosystem in the state, and said it may order a CBI investigation into the matter. The observation came from a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta which was hearing a suo motu case concerning contamination in the Jojari river. The top court had also flagged the issue of pollution in the Bandi and Luni rivers.

The Jojari river passes through Jodhpur, the Bandi river flows through Pali and the Luni river runs through Balotra. The Bandi and Jojari rivers merge with the Luni river near Balotra city. While hearing the matter on Monday, the apex court flagged the issues of alleged illegal mining, regularisation of mining leases and industries operating without the requisite no-objection certificate.
"If we start probing into this, it may require a CBI investigation," the bench observed. "The entire river system is destroyed in full view of the state authorities," it said, adding that state authorities have apparently failed to discharge their duties. The bench observed that the officials concerned may face the consequences if the state does not take effective corrective action.
It also flagged that several industries in areas such as Sanganer in Rajasthan were operating without the requisite no-objection certificate. "Making 20 lakh people live in hell can't be compared with your economic viability and economic sustenance of a few," the bench observed.
While posting the matter for further hearing on November 27, the top court asked the Rajasthan government to submit a proposal for restoring the river system and on the other issues flagged by it. In August, the top court had directed the state government to constitute an "Integrated Coordination Group" (ICG) headed by the chief secretary to deal with the issue of contamination in the Jojari, Bandi and Luni rivers.
It had said the ICG shall hold detailed consultative deliberations with the high-level ecosystem oversight committee, formed earlier, on the issues highlighted in its order with a view to evolving an integrated, coordinated and time-bound framework for implementation of the measures.
The apex court in November last year constituted a high-level ecosystem oversight committee to detect the fundamental maladies in the system, to supervise the remedial measures required to arrest further pollution and to give long-term suggestions for reversal of the damage already caused.
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