High Court Gives Nashik Civic Body Two Weeks to Spell Out How It Will Stop Godavari Pollution Before the Kumbh
The Bombay High Court has told the Nashik municipal commissioner to place on record, within two weeks, the steps the civic body will take to stop pollution entering the Godavari, the Times of India reported on 21 October. The order came on 13 October in a contempt petition by environmentalist Rajesh Pandit. MIDC got time to take instructions on a common effluent treatment plant for Ambad and Satpur. The next hearing is on 27 October.
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With the 2027 Simhastha getting closer, the Bombay High Court has asked the Nashik municipal commissioner to place on record, within two weeks, the measures the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) proposes to stop pollution of the Godavari as it flows through the city. The Times of India reported this on 21 October 2026. This is reported by TOI. We have not seen the court's written order.
This follows our earlier post: Godavari water sampled for the High Court pollution case (7 October).
What the court did
- A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata heard the matter on 13 October. It asked the NMC administration to detail the steps it will take to curb all forms of pollution entering the river.
- The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) got time to take instructions on installing a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for the Ambad and Satpur industrial estates.
- The next hearing is on 27 October 2026, when the court will look at the replies from NMC and MIDC.
What the case is about
It is a contempt petition filed in May 2025 by environmentalist Rajesh Pandit. He says orders from the Godavari pollution PIL, filed in 2012 and decided in 2018, have not been followed. He wants time-bound work on sewage treatment, pollution control and river conservation before the Kumbh: upgrading old sewage treatment plants, collecting all sewage, removing encroachments along the river's blue line, and building the CETP at Ambad MIDC. "The project gathered momentum only after the contempt petition was filed," Pandit told TOI.
What we still don't know
- The results of the water samples taken on 5 October, which were due to go to the court, have not been made public. The TOI report does not mention them.
- NMC has not published the plan it will file.
Why it matters for pilgrims
The three Amrit Snans in August and September 2027 bring crores of people into the Godavari at Ramkund and the ghats. Whether the river is clean enough to bathe in depends on the sewage and industrial-waste work this case is pushing. Background: Godavari rejuvenation and new STPs and hexavalent chromium found in the Nandini near Ambad MIDC. We will update this after the 27 October hearing.
