India's Ganges, Yamuna declared 'not living entities'

Ganges is a lifeline to more than 500 million people all across India

India's holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna cannot be viewed as living entities, the country's Supreme Court has declared.

An order made by the High Court in Uttarakhand state was overruled by the SC which said that the two rivers have the same legal status as human beings.

The move was seen as a measure to increase protection for the rivers, which are worshiped in India but are heavily polluted.

Uttarakhand's state government took the issue to the Supreme Court and argued that the declaration was legally unsustainable.

Ganges or 'Ganga Mata' is a lifeline to more than 500 million people all over India. The sacred rivers are worshiped as deities. But both are heavily polluted by waste, sewage and the cremation of bodies on their banks.

The laws that exist to curb pollution are poorly enforced. The judgement given by the state government in March to give the rivers the same legal status as people was an attempt to fix these issues. The argument given was that the act of pollution or damaging the rivers is should legally be compared to assault or even murder.



While the declaration attracted a lot of publicity, the ruling was not practical and could lead to complicated legal situations, BBC reported.

They took those objections to the Supreme Court, which agreed and has now overturned the earlier ruling. However, the key question remains unanswered on how to make sure that the two most important rivers of India are kept clean.