Kerala High Court Empowers High-Level Committee To Oversee Pollution Control In Periyar River

The division bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice M B Snehalatha issued directions while considering a batch of petitions concerning the pollution of Periyar river.

The Court recalled that it had earlier proposed the formation of a unified authority to manage and protect the Periyar. However, despite subsequent government assurances—including a proposed Integrated River Basin Conservation and Management Plan—no concrete steps have been taken. Instead, the Court noted that over 20 different agencies currently hold fragmented responsibilities, with some of them allegedly complicit in pollution themselves.

T. Naveen, counsel appearing for the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), admitted that the two principal sources of contamination were manmade: effluent discharge from over 250 industries and dumping of solid waste by local self-government bodies and other entities. He added that continuous monitoring has shown a decline in large-scale pollution but acknowledged the limitations of daily enforcement by the Board. The Court directed that consolidated reports on industry-wise monitoring be periodically prepared and placed on record.

On behalf of certain petitioners, advocate Kuriakose Varghese urged the Court to declare the Periyar River a “legal entity” with fundamental rights, relying on the precedent in Lalit Miglani v. State of Uttarakhand (2017 SCC OnLine Utt 392). He suggested that designated officers could act as guardians of the river under the parens patriae doctrine. The Bench, however, observed that since the Uttarakhand ruling is still pending before the Supreme Court, it was cautious about adopting a similar approach at this stage.

In the interim, the Court directed that the existing High-Level Committee, earlier constituted in an advisory capacity, be vested with full powers to oversee pollution control in the river. The Committee will now be authorized to act on inspection reports, including those prepared by the Pollution Control Board, regarding both industrial effluents and solid waste dumping.

The Court clarified that this arrangement is temporary until the government finalizes the creation of a unified authority. Senior Government Pleader S. Kannan had submitted that the State was not opposed to such a body but required more time to structure its framework.

The Bench emphasized the urgency of the matter, remarking that overlapping jurisdictions among numerous agencies had rendered previous plans ineffective. While it kept the government's proposal for an integrated plan alive, the Court directed the State to return with concrete inputs on its constitution by the next hearing.

The matter has been posted for further consideration on October 6, 2025.

Case Title - Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi v State of Kerala and  connected Matters

Case No - WP(C) 996/ 2012 and Connected Matters

Counsel for Petitioners - K K Ashkar, Ashira Mohamed Ashrof, Mathew A Kuzhalnadan, Kuriakose Varghese, K R Arun Krishnan, Sudeep Aravind Panicker, V Shyamohan, K M George, Chithra P George, Mathews P George, Sneha Harisankar, Sureshkumar M, A V Jojo, B M Jeevan Raj, A X Varghese, Harisankar S, Sherry J Thomas, Joemon Antony, Antony Nilton Remelo, Renish Raveendran, Thaman Bai, P J Unnikrishnan, Ligish Xavier, Gokul Devis, Riyan Augustine Shaji, Amal M

Counsel for Respondents - N Ajith, Geetha P Menon, R Suraj Kumar, P B Subramnyan, Dinesh R Shenoy, R V Rahul, Lijin Thamban, George Cherian, Lal K Joseph, T Naveen, K T Thomas, K M George, C Dinesh, M Ajay, M Gopikrishnan Nambiar, K John Mathai, Jason Manavalan, Kuryan Thomas, Paulose C Abraham, Raja Kannan, Pranoy Harilal, Tesin Mathew, K S Arun Kumar, Babu Joseph Kuruvathazha, Archana K S, Mohammed Shafi K, Noel Elias, P M Johny, Justine Jacob, Prakash M P, T K Ajithkumar,

Amicus Curiae - Ananthakrishnan A Kartha