As per case facts The Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance of extreme decades-long environmental pollution in the Jojari Bandi and Luni rivers by industrial effluents and municipal sewage threatening ... millions of lives and the entire ecosystem The State's actions were found belated and inadequate with many infrastructural capacities being grossly insufficient despite prior judicial and committee directions The question arose how the Court should intervene to enforce the constitutional right to life Article and a healthy environment in the face of sustained systemic failure of regulatory and administrative bodies Finally The Supreme Court modified the interim stay on a prior NGT order and constituted a High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee headed by a retired High Court Judge The Committee was given comprehensive powers and terms of reference including time-bound implementation of remedial plans auditing treatment plants mapping illegal discharge points and ensuring the Polluter Pays principle is effectively applied emphasizing that environmental protection is a constitutional imperative not an administrative choice

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