NGT pulls up Keralam PCB over ‘incomplete’ report on measures to curb Kadambrayar river pollution

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has rejected Kerala State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) latest report on the action taken to curb the pollution of Kadambrayar River in Ernakulam while stating that it is “incomplete and not in compliance” with the tribunal’s earlier directive to assess the environmental compensation payable by the violators.

“None of the details. We expect the Member Secretary to verify the report before it is filed, at least when the matter is posted for reporting compliance of directions,” pointed out the Southern Bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, and Prashant Gargava, Expert Member.

Kadambrayar River is among the 32 polluted river stretches/locations identified in Keralam as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s ‘Polluted River Stretches for Restoration of Water Quality, 2025’. The Southern Bench of the tribunal recommended remedial action after it took cognisance of the report titled ‘No respite from faecal contamination in Kadambrayar river in Ernakulam district’ published in The Hindu.

It had earlier asked the State Pollution Control Board to go through the action taken report filed by the Department of Local Self-Government on the restoration of Kadambrayar River. The tribunal directed the board to asses the environmental compensation based on the ‘polluter pays principle’.

The board informed the tribunal in its report on June 19, 2026 that it had examined the compliance status of the local bodies situated close to the banks of Kadambrayar River from May 25, 2026 to June 3, 2026. The inspections were held in Edathala grama panchayat, Thrikkakkara municipality, Kunnathunadu grama panchayat, Kizhakkambalam grama panchayat and Kochi Corporation.

The report claimed that the Thrikkakara municipality imposed a total fine of ₹26,590 from March 2024 to August 2024 against those responsible for dumping garbage in water bodies. The inspections found that CCTV facility was not installed at vulnerable bridge locations/river stretches along the Kizhakkambalam grama panchayat as part of the monitoring against waste dumping into the river.

The board informed the tribunal that Kochi Corporation has completed a survey of the sources of discharge of waste into the Kadambrayar river. A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 100 KLD has been installed at the Brahmapuram waste plant as part of the remedial measures, it said.

In its response to the board’s report, the Southern Bench stated that it only stated that the village panchayat, the Corporation or the municipality will furnish the documents later. The tribunal said the report should be verifying the compliance not at the directions of the NGT, but by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board itself. “We express our displeasure in the way the report is filed,” it said while asking the board to “file a better report” by September 11, 2026.