Even as pollution levels in the Ganges River continue to rise, recent legal rulings may offer up a new defense of the sacred waterway. Last month, the Allahabad High Court, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, ordered the closure of more than 100 tanneries that pour tons of toxic chromium into the Ganges each year in the industrial city of Kanpur. The ruling was the latest in a series of decisions by the court that have stopped giant construction projects in the Ganges floodplain and mandated the construction of new waste treatment plants in cities along its banks. (...)

The article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111123-india-ganges-river-pollution/

Basic information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges

Environment, Business & Human Rights in India:

http://www.business-humanrights.org/Categories/RegionsCountries/AsiaPacific/India