Waste fires choke Sahibi riverbed near Rewari
A fragile river system that environmentalists and government agencies have been trying to revive for years is facing a fresh threat, with industrial waste allegedly being dumped and burnt under the cover of darkness along the Sahibi riverbed near Rewari.
The Sahibi Baraj bridge near Masani village on the Delhi-Jaipur national highway (NH-8) has emerged as a flashpoint, with residents alleging that industrial units routinely dump waste in the open and set it on fire during the late evening or night. Thick, toxic smoke reportedly drifts towards nearby villages and the highway, posing a risk to residents, livestock and commuters. Videos of the fires have also surfaced on social media.
Local activist Prakash Kharkhada, who said he had repeatedly approached the local administration, has now submitted a complaint to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Central Pollution Control Board and the Haryana State Pollution Control Board.
“The activity takes place under cover of darkness precisely because it escapes regular monitoring — the intent appears to be to conceal the source of the waste and the identity of the industrial unit responsible,” Kharkhada said in his complaint.
He said residents living close to the site had reported breathlessness, coughing and vomiting, while livestock had also been seen fleeing the fumes. HSPCB chairman Vinay Pratap Singh was unavailable for comment. A senior official said the board was reviewing the complaint.
The Masani incident is not isolated but appears to be part of a larger pattern of illegal waste dumping and burning along Haryana’s border with Rajasthan. The Tribune has earlier highlighted illegal rubber and scrap-burning kilns in the Tauru belt of Nuh, where waste transported from across the state border has allegedly been burnt in unregulated units.
The National Green Tribunal had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue in January 2025 and directed the Haryana and Rajasthan pollution control boards and environment departments to act. The intervention led to fines on Rajasthan-based firms and sealing of several illegal scrap yards, but similar activity continues to surface.
Residents allege that waste generators in Rajasthan offload industrial garbage in Haryana’s border villages, where enforcement is weaker and jurisdictional issues delay action.
The location of the Masani site has made the issue particularly serious. The Sahibi is at the centre of a multi-year rejuvenation effort, while its floodplains and tributaries have been identified for protection under the Natural Conservation Zone framework of the NCR Regional Plan.
Residents have sought night-time inspections, identification of erring units, scientific sampling of waste residue, CCTV surveillance and an Action Taken Report, warning that unchecked burning threatens “rural populations, cattle, the environment, and thousands of commuters” on the highway.
