The TN State Human Rights Commission has directed the Municipal Administration and the TN Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to submit within three weeks, their reports on a news report depicting the pitiable status of river Cauvery in the State.
The New Indian Express, on May 31, had carried a news report under the headline ‘Will Officials Save the Cauvery River?’.
The report said that the river, a main source of water for most parts of the State, was facing a serious threat from untreated industrial effluents, particularly originating from dying units, apart from sewage being let into it.
The report added that on a stretch of about 80 km in Erode district, two municipalities and five town panchayats contributed hugely to the contamination of the river water. Nearly 10 million litres of sewage was let into the river by Komarapalayam and Pallipalayam municipalities, while half of the quantity flowed into the channels that connected the river from various town panchayats. It appears that over 200 illegal dying units functioning in Komarapalayam and Pallipalayam let in the untreated effluents into the river. The lack of underground sewerage systems in the civic bodies was the reason for letting in waste into the river, the report added.
Quoting the report, advocate K Sudhan filed a complaint before the Human Rights Commission in public interest and prayed the commission to recommend to the government to prevent dumping of industrial effluents or household sewerage into the river.
SHRC member Jayanthi, IAS (retired), who took cognizance of the complaint on June 15, directed the Municipal Administration Director and the TNPCB chairman to inquire into the matter and send reports within three weeks.