The Orissa High Court issued notices to three civic bodies on Tuesday to inform about the steps taken by them for setting up sewage treatment plants.
The direction came after a report submitted by the State Pollution Control Board stated that rivers flowing through major cities of the state have turned toxic, due to unabated release of untreated sewage and effluents.
The civic bodies of Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Rourkela were issued notices by a division bench headed by Chief Justice S Muralidhar.
The bench was adjudicating a petition, which had alleged that untreated sewage released into the Kathajodi river in Cuttack city polluted the river alarmingly.
The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) had, however, assured the court that it is taking necessary steps to divert the sewage to a nearby treatment plant.
The court expressed displeasure over the civic bodies' practice of releasing sewage and effluents into the river without bothering to set up sewage treatment plants.
It ordered the officials of the three civic bodies to remain physically present in the court during the next hearing on Friday.