In Faridabad, 12 villages come together to fight civic bodies attempt to dump waste in Aravallis

At a mahapanchayat held in Faridabad on Friday, 12 villages resolved to take legal action against civic authorities for dumping waste on Aravalli land

At a mahapanchayat held in Faridabad on Friday, 12 villages resolved to take legal action against civic authorities for dumping waste on Aravalli land.

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On Wednesday the municipal corporation of Gurugram (MCG) with the help of municipal corporation of Faridabad had begun dumping waste on the land, located in the middle of the Aravalli forest and 1.5 km from the Pali crusher toll. They suspended the move on Thursday following a police complaint against it.

The villages that met on Friday surround this land.

Jitendra Bhadana, a resident of Pali village and who complained to the Pali police against the dumping, said, “We will not let authorities build another Bandhwari (landfill) here. A case regarding the land is subjudice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court so this land cannot be used anyway by the municipal corporation.”

On Friday, Hindustan Times went for a spot check at the site. Garbage, including plastic, was dumped on an approximately 500 metre stretch. Trees were cut and land levelled to make way for dumper garbage trucks too. But no dumping took place on Friday. At the mahapanchayat, the villagers said that the land was a common village land that the Faridabad municipality had forcibly taken from them. They said they had challenged the “takeover” in the high court and the case was pending.

The mahapanchayat appointed lawyer Bhagendar Bhadana, also a resident in one of the villages that took part in the deliberations on Friday, to take the issue up in court. “It is not just the matter of the village common land being used,” he said. “It is also about how in the coming years, our underground water will be contaminated, the air will be even more polluted and the health of residents from all these villages will be affected. We will be submitting an application in the high court in this regard and also file a case in National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the cutting of trees and harm to the environment.”

Karambeer Bhadana, resident of Pali village said, “For years now, we have anyway been breathing dust particles in polluted air from the crusher zone; we do not want to start drinking contaminated water at least.”

Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) additional municipal commissioner Inderjit Kularia confirmed that no more waste was dumped after Thursday’s order. “As the matter is subjudice in the high court, the land won’t be used anymore and we are in the process of finding an alternative,” he said.

At the mahapanchayat, over 100 villagers participated in the discussions. They came from Pali, Mohabatabad, Pakhal, Gotha Nayagaon, Bhankari, Sainik Colony and others surrounding the land. They alleged that around 200 truckloads had been dumped since Wednesday afternoon.

Gurugram and Faridabad generate almost 2,000 tonnes of waste daily. With the Bhandwari landfill filled to capacity and the NGT ordering the MCG to find another space for the excess, the civic bodies had zeroed-in on this land in the Aravallis.