Ganga as ‘living entity’: Centre moves apex court over HC order

The Centre has moved the Supreme Court over the Uttarakhand High Court judgement to accord the status of a “living human entity” to the Ganga river, citing administrative issues relating to the implementation of the order.

Minister and state government spokesperson Madan Kaushik cited the HC order of March 20, which stated that the chief secretary and the Advocate General (AG) would act as the “legal parents” of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.

“Since the matter of cleaning the Ganga is not just restricted to Uttarakhand, as it also flows through West Bengal, how could the chief secretary and the AG tackle all the issues related to the river,” he asked.

“That is why the central government has approached the Supreme Court on this matter,” he said.

Kaushik said the Uttarakhand government was also a party to the petition moved in the Supreme Court.

However, he welcomed the Uttarakhand High Court’s order according the status of “living human entities” to the Ganga and Yamuna, two of India’s most sacred rivers.

Exercising extraordinary jurisdiction vested in the court, a division bench of Justices Rajeev Sharma and Alok Singh of the High Court had said, “Holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna have been declared to be treated as a living human entities.”

The court order came on a PIL filed by Haridwar resident Mohammad Salim, regarding the high levels of pollution and encroachment in the river and its tributaries.