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India's Ganga river and one of its tributaries, the Yamuna, were declared living entities by the high court of the Indian state of Uttarakhand on Monday.

These massive rivers have just been given legal rights


Daniel Martins
Digital Reporter

Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 6:40 PM - It's second nature to think of a person having legal rights, but not a natural feature. Certainly not one like India's Ganga river, a massive waterway with hundreds of millions of people living along its banks.

Now, that river and one of its tributaries, the Yumana, were declared living entities by the high court of the Indian state of Uttarakhand on Monday.

"It means now Ganga and Yamuna rivers will be treated like a natural person but only through a designated person,” one lawyer in the case told the Hindustan Times.

What that means in practice is that the rivers will be regarded as having rights under the law, and court-appointed guardians can argue cases on their behalf, similar to a lawyer representing a minor.

The Indian press has cast the move as the latest effort by conservationists to force state governments along the rivers' course to take action against pollution and polluters.

Pollution levels have risen in the rivers as India's industrialization has continued apace, threatening their water quality and aquatic life. The Ganga, also known as the Ganges, runs more than 2,000 km from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The Yamuna is a major tributary of the Ganga, running past the Indian capital of New Delhi. Both rivers are considered sacred to Hindus, and hundreds of millions of people live in their watershed.

Currently, people or groups affected by pollution can bring suit against either the polluter for causing the problem, or the state governments for not taking action themselves. Proponents of the rivers' new status hope it will be an extra resource in future legal challenges.

The landmark ruling actually isn't the first in history to grant limited rights to rivers. It isn't even the first such ruling this month.

A similar status was granted to the Whanganui River in New Zealand last week by that country's parliament. The river, held sacred by the Maori people, will be represented by two trustees, according to the BBC.

SOURCE: Hindustan Times | India TodayBBC | Thumbnail credit

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