Solanki Jaswantsinh Kalusinh Vs. District Collector and Ors. Country/Territory India Type of court National - higher court Date Sep 17, 2009 Source UNEP, InforMEA Court name High Court of Gujarat Seat of court Ahmedabad Judge Radhakrishnan, K.S.Akil Kureshi. Language English Subject Water Keyword Effluent waste (industrial sources) Groundwater Groundwater recharge Water quality standards Freshwater quality/freshwater pollution Effluent waste water/discharge Liability/compensation Abstract Petitioner has raised grievances about the inefficiency and the incapacity of the officers of the Pollution Control Board to control the contamination of underground water in Boriya Khurad village, causing serious health hazards. The Environmental Engineer of the GPCB in an inspection conducted on 19.04.2004 noticed that a dyeing and manufacturing unit in the above mentioned village had discharged chemical and other toxic subject into the underground bore-wells of the factory, which in turn contaminated the water in nearby bore-wells causing serious water pollution and health hazards to the villagers and farmers. The GPCB had to take strong measures due to the objections raised by the villagers and ultimately the factory was closed down, but the problems of the complainant petitioner and other villagers still subsists. The pollution caused by the 4th respondent factory is a perennial problem and the contaminated water still causes serious health hazards. The pollution already caused is still to be eradicated. Petitioner has, therefore, approached this Court seeking a direction to the authorities to take appropriate steps to check and curb the pollution of the underground water at village Boriya Khurad and to take appropriate action against the offending industrial units responsible for the pollution of the underground water and also take appropriate steps against the erring officers and also for the consequential relieves. The Court observes that in several cases industrial and chemical factories after polluting the bore-wells and water courses on a massive scale simply get away causing serious health hazards and environment pollution. There is no system or mechanism to meet with such situations and to determine the extent of pollution caused and to determine the damage caused. In few cases, High Courts and Apex Court have ordered compensation to the victims. But, there is no clear-cut mechanism to assess the compensation amount legitimately due to the affected persons and the damage caused to the environment. The authorities of the GPCB can take appropriate action to close down the unit, but there is no provision in Water Act or Environment Act to assess the compensation. The court laments the lack of accountability of industries due to the inability and inefficiency of the PCB in assessing damages and compensation due to lapse of time. The court observes that the compensation awarded must have a direct correlation with not just the magnitude and capacity of the enterprise, but also with the harm caused by it. The court set specific guidelines, stressing on the GPCBs responsibility to bring to the knowledge of the District Judge and District Collector for assessing compensation any environmental degradation caused by industries. Full text COU-156184.pdf Website www.ielrc.org