ABSTRACT
Water pollution has emerged as one of the gravest environmental and public health challenges confronting Tamil Nadu, a state whose rivers, groundwater aquifers, and coastal waters sustain nearly 78 million people. Rapid industrialisation, urban expansion, agricultural intensification, and inadequate waste-management infrastructure have collectively degraded major water bodies including the Cauvery, Palar, Noyyal, Cooum, and Adyar rivers. This paper examines the legal architecture governing water pollution in India, with particular emphasis on Tamil Nadu, and critically analyses the role of the judiciary—both the Madras High Court and the National Green Tribunal—in enforcing environmental standards. Drawing on landmark constitutional pronouncements, statutory provisions, and a series of significant cases, the paper argues that while the legal framework is broadly adequate, its implementation deficit remains the principal obstacle to achieving water security and environmental justice in Tamil Nadu. The paper concludes with recommendations for institutional reform, community participation, and technology-driven monitoring.[1]
INTRODUCTIONWater is the most fundamental natural resource, and its contamination strikes at the very heart of human dignity, public health, and ecological integrity. Tamil Nadu, one of India’s most industrialised and densely populated states, faces acute water pollution across its surface water bodies, groundwater systems, and coastal zones. The Central Pollution Control Board has documented that several of Tamil Nadu’s rivers fall in the most polluted categories, with Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels far exceeding permissible norms.[2]
The state’s industrial profile—dominated by tanneries in Vellore, textile dyeing units in Tirupur, paper mills along the Cauvery, thermal power plants, and petrochemical complexes—generates enormous volumes of untreated or inadequately treated effluents. These are routinely discharged into rivers and watercourses, either directly or through inadequate common effluent treatment plants (CETPs). Agricultural runoff laden with pesticides, fertilisers, and herbicides further compounds the problem, while rapid urban growth overwhelms existing sewage infrastructure, leading to raw sewage reaching rivers and groundwater.[3]
The legal response to this crisis has evolved across several decades, from early statutory enactments to bold constitutional jurisprudence and, more recently, to specialised tribunals. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and a series of Supreme Court and High Court judgements have created a normative architecture that, on paper, is comparatively robust. Yet enforcement gaps, institutional weaknesses, and political economy constraints ensure that legal victories do not always translate into clean water on the ground.[4]
This paper proceeds in seven parts. Following this introduction, Part II maps the principal sources and types of water pollution in Tamil Nadu. Part III surveys the statutory and constitutional framework. Part IV analyses the key judicial decisions, both from the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court. Part V examines the National Green Tribunal’s contribution. Part VI identifies structural challenges. Part VII offers conclusions and recommendations.[5]
[1]Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Annual Report 2022-23, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
[2]Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), Status of Water Pollution in Tamil Nadu, Annual Report 2022, Chennai.
[3]V. Sivasubramanian, Water Pollution and Environmental Law in India, Eastern Law House, Kolkata, 3rd edn., 2019, p. 45.
[4]World Health Organization (WHO), Drinking Water Quality Guidelines, 4th edn., Geneva, 2017.
[5]Ministry of Jal Shakti, National Water Mission Report 2021, Government of India, New Delhi.