Three Rajasthan firms fined, booked for dumping waste in Aravallis

In a landmark move against cross-border environmental violations, Haryana forest authorities have imposed fines exceeding Rs 10.3 lakh and registered FIRs against three Rajasthan-based companies for illegally dumping and burning waste in the Aravallis. The action, initiated on the orders of Nuh Deputy Commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena, marks the first time companies from another state have been held accountable under Haryana's environmental regulations.

The crackdown follows sustained dumping of waste in Khori Kalan and Silkho villages along the Haryana-Rajasthan border for over a year — a menace first reported by ‘The Tribune’, prompting a suo motu intervention by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). While the activity had subsided for a few months, the dumping mafia resumed burning waste in the region over the past two months.

Calling it a decisive stand, DC Meena said, “The companies need to act responsibly. They cannot just hand over their waste to mafia and not care where and how it is disposed of. The pollution authorities had been writing to Rajasthan counterparts for long as culprits were in their jurisdiction. We didn’t want the jurisdiction confusion to be used as leverage, so we have acted. You dump in our jurisdiction, we will take action according to our norms,” he told ‘The Tribune’.

Following the directive, the forest department filed complaints at Tauru Sadar police station in three separate cases.

On June 8, Forest officials Anup Singh and Manoj Kumar caught a truck illegally dumping cattle waste and garbage in Silkho Aravalli Range. The vehicle was traced to Om Cargo Logistics, based in Satya Colony, Ajmer Bypass, Jaipur. The driver fled the scene, but photographic evidence was collected. The damage to 60 square metres of forest land was pegged at Rs 1.3 lakh.

In another case on June 27, two Bhiwadi-based companies — M/s PG Technoplast Pvt Ltd and M/s Gracure Pharmaceutical Ltd — were found dumping industrial waste over 1,000 and 800 square metres of forest land, respectively, in Khori Kalan. The environmental damage was assessed at Rs 5 lakh in the case of PG Technoplast and Rs 4 lakh for Gracure Pharmaceuticals. FIRs were lodged in both cases.