Joint committee report on crocodile deaths in Rajasthan river, 24/02/2025
Joint committee report in the Original Application No. 1375 of 2024 in compliance to National Green Tribunal dated December 19, 2024.
An application was filed suo-moto on the basis of the news item titled "Four endangered crocodile found dead in Rajasthan river experts wonder if pollution to blame” appearing in the Indian Express, December 6, 2024. The newspaper reported that in 2022, 50 crocodiles died due to industrial waste pollution in Chandraloi river, Kota, Rajasthan. From the date of publication of news, prior to 6 days it was reported that 4 crocodiles around 6-7 feet long were found dead and the cause of death is attributed to industrial pollution caused to the river water.
A joint committee was constituted on the orders of the NGT, December 19, 2024. The tribunal directed the joint committee to inspect the site and conduct bio monitoring and bio assy test and submit a report. Chandloi river is a small tributary of Chambal river. Chandraloi river comes out of a stream in Alania dam near Kota and shrinks into a rivulet as it passes through Keithun tehsil and outer periphery of the Kota city for about 15 km ultimately merges into the Chambal river on the downstream of Kota near Manasgaon. During the course of its flow along the outer periphery of Kota, Kansua nalah (which carries some of the domestic sewage of Kota, treated industrial effluent and agricultural runoff) merges with the Chandraloi river. The river Chandloi recharges due to regeneration or surplus water from the Chambal command area. In this Chandraloi river stretch crocodiles exists along the length of the river. Crocodiles have been found dead in the Chandraloi river in Kota. The deaths have raised concerns about the river's water quality and the need to protect wildlife.
The joint committee visited all the points where the incident of crocodile death was reported, the first incident reported on November 30, 2024 near Raipura Puliya, the second incident reported near Chandrasal anicut and last incident was reported near Ramkhedi puliya. The area has a good population of muggers in proximity to human habitation. The committee observed that local people are tolerant of the crocodile presence in the river and man-crocodile conflicts are negligible.
The joint committee visited the areas on January 24 and 25, 2025 and collected the water samples from 9 representative locations where the incidents of crocodile death were reported during November 30, 2024 and December 4, 2024 in river Chandraloi. The samples collected from drain, industrial outlets, river Chandraloi and Chambal and later analysed for physico-chemical, heavy metal, pesticide and biological indicator as per location specific parameters. It appears that organic pollution from raw sewage mixing into the Chandraloi river is a significant issue, as indicated by the physico-chemical parameters and the presence of total and faecal coliform. The dominance of Chironomidae in benthic macro-invertebrates further confirms sewage contamination in the water body. Interestingly, the bio-assay results show a high fish survival rate (90% to 100%) in the collected samples. "This could suggest that, despite the contamination, aquatic life forms are still managing to survive. However, the long-term impacts of such pollution on the ecosystem could be detrimental".
It was observed that heavy metal levels are within normal ranges. However, the increasing use of pesticides by local farmers is concerning. Traces of pesticides like Aldrin, Endosulfan, 4,4-DDE have been detected in the river water. Although these concentrations are within the prescribed drinking water standards. The committee also interacted with officers of veterinary department, Kota who conducted the postmortem but the report is not very clear about the cause of death as the carcass was found in putrefied condition, the probable reason of death is multiple organ failture. Samples of viscera have been sent to State Forensic lab Kota and report is awaited.
The report acknowledged that there's a sewage system issue in Kota, resulting in raw sewage entering the Chandraloi river. "Despite having a 2.75 MLD surplus sewage treatment capacity, gaps in household connections lead to pollution. Effective measures are needed to ensure all households are properly connected and sewage is treated before entering the river". As reported in the newspaper 50 crocodiles died but as per the record of Forest & Wildlife Department of Kota from January 2022 to December 2024 a total of 10 deaths of crocodiles were reported.
The joint committee recommended conducting a regular crocodile census by the forest department of Kota region to understand the population trend and population demography. Anicuts should be replaced by bridges to facilitate the free movement of crocodiles and also to facilitate free water flow along the river. The joint committee also recommended that the state agriculture department should create awareness and promote the use of organic manure in the Chandraloi river area. In addition, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) should instruct Municipal Corporation, Kota to expedite the completion of household sewage connection and divert all drains to the STP. This would ensure that city sewage is properly treated and not discharged into the Chandraloi river, thereby improving water quality.