New Delhi, Oct. 25 -- The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan government to seal and dismantle all illegal and unauthorised discharge points into the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river ecosystem in the state and simultaneously asked the authorities and the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) to initiate proceedings for the recovery of environmental compensation for the entire period of violation. The court said that environmental issues do not merit an incident-based response where the state bureaucracy reacts only when a violation gets reported. It called for a "fundamental shift" in the approach which requires the state machinery to be proactive in anticipating possible environmental risks. The bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, "There is a dire need for a fundamental change in the manner in which the bureaucracy approaches these issues." "The state machinery must shed its traditional reactive posture, move away from a practice of responding only after violations are brought to its notice, and bring about an internal reorientation in its functioning so as to anticipate environmental risks, act proactively and ensure continuous coordination amongst concerned authorities." The directions form part of a suo motu proceedings initiated by the court on a news item last year showing alarming levels of pollution in Jojari river that serves as a lifeline for 2 million population in the state. In its September 29 order, uploaded recently, the court directed the state to "seal and dismantle" all illegal and unauthorised discharge points into the river including bypass arrangements, manholes, chambers, pipelines and conduits. The concerned authorities in the state were further directed to initiate appropriate proceedings against the landowner/occupier and concerned state officials responsible for the lapses. The order further directed the RSPCB to "initiate proceedings for assessment, imposition and actual recovery of Environmental Compensation" for the entire period of violation from the concerned industrial units, people or entities who benefited from such violations. The present order is part of a slew of orders passed by the court over the past months involving stoppage of industrial activities along three rivers, strengthening the common effluent treatment plant (CETP), and ensuring no industrial waste gets directly dumped in the river. To ensure free flow of the river is maintained, the court directed the Rajasthan government and the concerned authorities to undertake a "comprehensive technical survey" of all bridges and road crossings across the Luni, Jojari and Bandi river systems and their tributaries to identify structures which impede or are capable of impeding the natural flow of the rivers. Simultaneously, the state was directed to remove the obstructions and put in place appropriate safeguards to prevent future construction. It directed the state and concerned authorities to take immediate and effective enforcement action against "all illegal and unauthorised Bajari/sand mining activities which have an adverse impact upon the riverbed, riverbanks or natural flow and ecology of the river system". "The recurring nature of these concerns, despite the directions issued by this Court from time to time, demonstrates that a purely incident-based response is inadequate," the court said, while directing the state to furnish a further affidavit showing compliance of its latest directions. The matter is placed for hearing before the court on Monday....