Jamshedpur, May 31 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Eastern Zone bench Kolkata has taken serious cognisance of the high pollution levels and death of fish in bulk in Subarnarekha river in Jamshedpur and ordered an inquiry by a 3-member fact-finding committee, people aware of the matter said. "We deem it just and proper to call a Fact Finding Report, constitute a joint committee consisting one representative from the district commissioner (DC), one representative nominated by the director of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), regional office and one representative nominated by the member secretary of the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB)," the NGT order, copy of which is with HT, stated. "The committee is directed to visit the sites and submit the factual and action taken report (ATR) within four weeks. The JSPCB will be the nodal agency for coordination and logistic support. List the matter on August 10 next," the NGT bench of justice Sheo Kumar Singh (judicial member) and Ishwar Singh (expert member), has ordered. The order came during the hearing on a petition by the Jamshedpur-based advocate and environmental and cyber security expert Pratik Sharma highlighting the at least three instances of quintals of dead fish surfacing in the Subarnarekha river at two locations since April 2026. "The Tribunal has issued notices to the concerned State authorities and respondents over our petition highlighting untreated industrial discharge, sewage contamination, depletion of dissolved oxygen levels, and the continuing ecological degradation of river Subarnarekha, a vital river system supporting lakhs of people across Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha," Saurabh Sharma, advocate representing the petitioner Pratik Sharma, told HT. The JSPCB regional office in Jamshedpur had earlier confirmed low dissolved oxygen (DO) level of 1.6 miligram per litre in Subarnarekha water on March 31 and April 1 against prescribed level of 4 miligram per litre. In its testing report, the JSPCB had found biological oxygen demand (BOD) 11 miligram and chemical oxygen demand (COD) 44 miligram per litre of riverwater. "High BOD and COD levels reduce the DO level, which starts harming aquatic life below 4 miligram per litre," the JSPCB regional officer Jitendra Prasad Singh, told HT. "I welcome the intervention of the NGT and sincerely hope that these proceedings will ensure transparency, accountability, scientific assessment, and effective remedial measures for restoration of the river ecosystem and protection of aquatic life and public health," Pratik Sharma told HT on Friday....