Ganga and Yamuna are living Entities
In a landmark judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court recently ruled that holy rivers, Ganga and Yamuna as living human entities.
The verdict has given the two sacred rivers the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities.
Being a ‘living entity’ the court has made the Chief Secretary and the Advocate General of Uttarakhand the “legal parents” of the two rivers, as it originates from the state. The court has asked the two officials to “work as the human face to protect, conserve and preserve them and their tributaries.”
The unusual order came after a PIL filed in 2014 making it the first river to be declared so in India. After a court in New Zealand had ruled the Whanganui River a ‘living entity’, making it the first water body in the world to be granted the status.
This will go a long way in stopping illegal constructions and encroachments along the rivers and its tributaries. It can file cases and take people to court for such actions.