Jodhpur, Sept. 17 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognizance of the worsening pollution in the Jojari river in Rajasthan, observing that untreated industrial effluents continue to be discharged into the water, rendering it unfit for consumption and affecting hundreds of villages in Jodhpur and adjoining districts. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that a suo motu case be registered and said, "Let the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders." The Jojari, an 83-km seasonal tributary of the Luni river, originates from the hills near Poondloo village in Nagaur district and flows southwest into Jodhpur district. Over the years, however, the river has become a conduit for untreated waste from Boranada's textile and chemical industries as well as domestic sewage, contaminating its waters with toxic chemicals such as sulfur, lead, and cadmium. This has destroyed aquatic ecosystems, affected agriculture, and jeopardized the health and livelihoods of lakhs of people living along its banks. The gravity of the situation has also been underscored by a recent study conducted by the Chemistry Department of Jai Narain Vyas University, which revealed alarming levels of heavy metals in vegetables grown using polluted water and industrial wastewater around Jodhpur. The study covered four sites - Salawas, Madhuban Housing Board Mandi (Basni Phase 1 and 2), Bhadwasiya Nallah area, and Sangaria - and collected eight commonly consumed vegetables: carrot, radish, tomato, coriander, spinach, radish leaves, mustard leaves, and wild spinach. Experts noted that heavy metals, though toxic even at low concentrations, tend to accumulate in human organs and are chemically non-degradable. While the FAO and WHO have set dietary limits for such contaminants, the study found significant variations in pollution levels. Vegetables from the Bhadwasiya area were the least polluted, with zinc ions showing maximum intensity in tomato and radish. In Sangaria, irrigated primarily with Jojari river water, coriander, spinach, and radish leaves showed high lead content, while tomato and radish contained significant zinc. The Salawas site, dependent on both industrial wastewater and Jojari river water, recorded the highest levels of lead, chromium, and nickel, particularly in wild spinach and tomato. The issue of pollution in the Jojari has been under scrutiny before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in multiple petitions. Reports submitted there have repeatedly flagged non-compliance by industrial units. In a recent reply tabled in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, the state government admitted that the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) had issued notices to 102 textile units in the RIICO industrial area of Jodhpur for releasing untreated water into the river. Four of these units have since been ordered closed under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981, while three illegal factories in Shobhawaton ki Dhani and Salawas were demolished. Officials also reported the removal of 17 bypass lines illegally connected to the textile conduit system. At a meeting of the District Monitoring Committee held in August this year, Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) operators were asked to submit a "rotation closure plan" to reduce the inflow of polluted water. Pollution has also led to severe waterlogging and crop damage in nearby Balotra district. According to government records, Rs.5.76 crore was distributed as compensation to 4,380 affected farmers in 2023. Last year, another Rs.3.96 crore was sanctioned for 3,104 farmers in five affected panchayats, with disbursement ongoing. Revenue officials are presently conducting fresh surveys to identify the scale of losses this year....