PIL in HC seeks steps to tackle sea water pollution

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court by an NGO highlighting the dismal condition of sea water, which is extremely polluted along the Mumbai coastline at Marine Drive, Nariman Point, Girgaum and Juhu Chowpatty areas.

The PIL filed by Citizen Circle for Social Welfare and Education, through advocate Shehzad Naqvi claims to have personally surveyed the coastal areas of the city to find out about the effects and causes of water pollution. The petition also has newspaper articles which highlights reports prepared on the pollution content of sea water in Mumbai.

The PIL has annexed photographs of Marine Drive where every year, during monsoon, untreated sewage/waste gets piled up on the coastline. It also relies on a report prepared by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, carried out to ascertain water quality at different spots along the coastline.

Naqvi said "Office bearers of the NGO personally visited Marine Drive on July 30, and were shocked, surprised and dismayed to notice that there are several points, where sewage is discharged directly into the sea. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is dutybound to discharge sewage at the distance of about 3.7 km from the coastline, which is a practice followed worldwide to keep the coastline clean. Here, the civic body is flouting the law, which is one of the primary reasons for contamination/pollution of water."

The PIL has also attached photographs of trees planted along the Marine Drive promenade, which according to them has no leaves, because during high tide water spills over on the trees.