The Supreme Court closed its 2021 suo motu case on polluted rivers and handed the task of monitoring river pollution to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Court reiterated that the right to live in clean and hygienic conditions forms part of Article 21 (Right to Life). According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 2025 report, 296 river stretches in India are polluted. A stretch is classified as polluted when its Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) exceeds 3 milligrams per litre.