Gurgaon: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has widened the scope of a long-running case pertaining to the Sahibi river pollution.Noting that the Sahibi drains into Yamuna and ultimately Ganga, NGT has added National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as a respondent to the case — in a move that has brought the matter under central-level environmental monitoring for the first time.During the hearing on Feb 25, the tribunal said that because Sahibi is linked to the Yamuna–Ganga basin, pollution in the river has “wider implications” beyond the region. It asked NMCG to file its reply before the next hearing on April 22. The case, filed by social activist Prakash Yadav from Kharkhra village, had raised concerns about untreated sewage, industrial effluents and encroachments entering Sahibi and eventually collecting at the Sahibi barrage near Masani. “With Ganga Mission now part of the case, the issue has finally received the national-level attention it deserves,” Prakash Yadav said, adding, “For years, villagers were forced to live with foul-smelling groundwater, damaged farmland and a dying river. We hope this step ensures accountability from all agencies,” he said. Counsel for respondents — Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran and district development and panchayat office, Rewari — accepted the notice on behalf of the newly added respondent and sought time to submit a response. Yadav’s petition alleged that both treated and untreated sewage from the Dharuhera and Rewari regions flowed into the Sahibi and settled in large quantities near the barrage, posing risks to groundwater and the surrounding ecosystem. He said that the riverbanks also suffered from increasing encroachments, further constricting the natural flow of water.The matter first reached NGT in Sept 2022, when the tribunal treated Yadav’s email complaint as a petition. In its Sept 30, 2022 order, the NGT noted allegations that sewage from multiple STPs in Rewari was discharged into hundreds of acres of vacant land along the Sahibi river near Kharkhara and Khaliawas, causing waterlogging, contamination of hand-pump water and destruction of vegetation. Taking cognizance, the tribunal directed Haryana govt, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), Rewari Municipal Corporation and the district administration to respond.It also constituted a joint committee of HSPCB, the municipal corporation and the district magistrate to inspect the site, meet the complainant, verify facts and submit a detailed report.
