NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has pulled up the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for lapses in the implementation of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP), resulting in further deterioration of water quality on all parameters.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justices C.K. Thakker and R.V. Raveendran, took serious note of the non-representation of the Ministry during the hearing and counsel Vijay Panjwani informing the court that he was not willing to appear for the Ministry as there was no instruction.

The Bench, citing the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for the year ending March 2000, said that though over Rs. 900 crore had been spent on the implementation of the GAP, launched by the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1985, the quality of the water, instead of improving, had deteriorated. Industrial pollution, instead of coming down, had increased manifold. The States concerned had diverted the funds for other purposes.

The Bench directed the Secretary of MoEF to file a fresh affidavit by November 15 giving the status of the plan as on October 31, 2006 by taking into consideration all relevant factors, including the CAG report.

The Bench asked the Secretary to ensure that the law officers representing the Ministry were given proper instructions when they appeared in the court. It directed the Chief Secretaries of Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand to file a status report on the GAP by November 15.

Earlier, amicus curiae Krishan Mahajan told the court that Rs. 900 crore of public funds had gone down the drain and the quality of the water had deteriorated to the extent of making it unfit for human consumption.

He said the poor quality of water was responsible for all major diseases. In the absence of a proper implementation mechanism, all efforts to cleanse the Ganga had yielded no results.

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