Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v/s Union of India: Landmark Supreme Court Judgment on Environmental Pollution and the Polluter Pays Principle

Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum vs. Union of India & Ors.

Petitioner- Vellore Citizen Welfare Forums
Respondent- Union of India Rep. by its Secreatry, Department of Environment And Others.
Bench- Justice Kuldip Singh, Justice Faizan Uddin, Justice K. Venkataswami
Court- Supreme Court
Decided on- April 7, 2016

Background Of The Case
Vellore is one of the largest and oldest districts in Tamil Nadu. Situated on the bank of the Palar River. The River Palar is also a source of water to 30 cities and 50 villages in Tamil Nadu. The only source of income in the district is the tanning industry. Which converts animal hides and skin into leather. The tanning process involves a lots of wet processes which requires a lot or huge amount of water, and Vellore district, being situated on riverbank its consists of many tanning industries.

As that is the only source of income in the district, there is little or no control over the pollution factors that are produced by the industry, and the wastewater is disposed of near the water bodies, which slide into water bodies during monsoon or are absorbed by soil and are mixed into water bodies. Not only are water bodies affected by it, even the agricultural land is also affected by it. The treatment plan for tannery wastewater was carried out in 1980.

This case basically highlights the Palar River pollution case that was caused by tanneries in Tamil Nadu. As the tanning process need a lot or huge amount of water, there are even many concentrated chemicals that are used in the process of tanning like Trivalent Chromium, Vegetable Tannies, Alum, Syntans, Formaldehyde, Hlutraldehye, where as the wastewater generated after the process of tanning are generally highly polluted in terms of suspended solid, Nitrogen, Sulphide, Cholorid, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Chromium.

Due to this discharge of water waste produced by the tanneries into the water bodies, it affected the potable water in the cities and villages situated near the Palar River, and many people were affected by it.

Facts of the case

Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum is an NGO that filed a PIL in the Supreme Court to seek justice under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. The PIL states that the pollution caused by tanneries in the Palar River has affected many lives of people who depend upon the Palar River water for their survival. The pollution is caused by tanneries and industry dumping untreated waste in the river. A survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Research University says that about 35,000 hectares of agricultural land under tanneries have become unsustainable due to chemicals present in the untreated waste that was disposed of by them.

Issue raised

Whether the tanneries should be permitted to keep on working at the expense of the environment and the health and lives of lakhs of individuals?

Argument

By petitioner The learned counsel for the petitioner contended in the court that the water of the Palar River is heavily contaminated and is not usable for living purposes. It has made it difficult for the people residing near the Palar River to obtain safe drinkable water. A survey report was presented by the petitioner, from Peace Member, a non-governmental group, which stated that the examination of 13 towns in the Dindigul and Peddira Chatram Anchyata Union discovered that 350 out of 467 drinking and irrigation wells were severely polluted, and acute water scarcity was also reported. It was also reported that women and children have to walk a considerable distance to gather safe drinking water for their families. Another survey report from the Legal Aid and Advice Board of Tamil Nadu stated that 176 compounds in tannery effluent indicated a substantial level of pollution. It was also noted that processing one kilogram of leather takes about 40 liters of water, resulting in an alarmingly high volume of harmful effluent from tanneries.
By respondent The learned counsel for the respondent stated that Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) limits set by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) are unreasonable. However, on April 9th, 1996, the expertise of the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute was appointed by the court. The assessment concluded that the TDS set by the TNPCB was reasonable. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had yet to make definite guidelines for the release of TDS, sulphate, and chloride into inland and water surfaces.

Judgment

The judgment is one of the landmark judgments in environmental law of India as it addresses pollution caused to the environment and recognizes the severity of the pollution and the urgent need for action to protect the environment from degradation. Here are some of the key points of the judgment:

Establishment of an authority: The judgment directed the central government to establish an authority under section 3(3) of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, to deal with all environment-related issues in the state and have the necessary powers to take action against pollution-related matters. The authority was established to impose fines on the tanneries that caused the pollution.
Guidelines for the authority: The authority formed under this case was instructed to apply the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle. It was also asked to divide the compensation into two categories: firstly, damages done to the environment, and secondly, compensation to the parties affected by the pollution. These fines were to be submitted to the district magistrate/collector for the reimbursement of the affected parties.
Pollution fines: A fine of Rs. 10,000 was imposed on each tannery in Tamil Nadu, and they were ordered to pay their fines on or before October 31st, 1996.
Common treatment facilities: The judgment mandated the establishment of common treatment facilities.
Closure of non-compliant tanneries: Tanneries that failed to obtain approval from the board for the continuation of their operations were directed to be immediately closed or moved by the superintendent of police of the specified areas.
Compliance with TDS guidelines: The court affirmed that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) guidelines were in effect and must be followed by all companies and tanneries in Tamil Nadu.
Creation of a “Green Bench”: Through this judgment, a Green Bench was established.

Analysis Of The Case
The judgment directed the closure of non-compliant industries, imposed pollution fines, and mandated the establishment of common treatment facilities. It reinforced the balance between industrial development and environmental sustainability, setting a precedent for future environmental cases in India

References:

Case Analysis: Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India & Ors, (1996) | Significance of the 'Precautionary Principle' & the 'Polluter Pays Principle'
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum vs Union of India - Case Analysis | Law column
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum vs Union Of India & Ors on 28 August, 1996
Case Study: Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum v. Union of India
Case Analysis: Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v/s Union of India
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India
Tanneries Among Most Polluting Industries; Damaging Water Bodies: SC Issues Directions In Vellore River Pollution Case
Pollution by Tanneries in VelloreDistrict | SC issues Guidelines