Over 1,000 join march in Faridabad against waste dumping in protected Aravallis zone

Protesters alleged that more than 50 to 60 loaded trucks have arrived at the site since Saturday evening to dump waste.

Over 1,000 demonstrators marched on Sunday in protest against the alleged dumping of mixed waste in a protected Aravallis zone by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), the protesters said.

Protesters said the march began following a mahapanchayat near a government school in Bhakri village around 10am, during which several key decisions were taken. (HT PHOTO)

However, protestors said the Faridabad police stopped the march as they headed toward the alleged dumping site in Bhakri village near the Hanuman temple.

Protesters said the march began following a mahapanchayat near a government school in Bhakri village around 10am, during which several key decisions were taken.

The mahapanchayat was attended by villagers, the village pradhan, and environmentalists.

Tarun Chopra, a protester, said the stir has been ongoing for 12 days, with Sunday witnessing the largest turnout since the protests began. “We will meet with Urban Local Bodies Department (ULB) Minister Vipul Goel at 10:00am on Monday. Dumping waste in the Aravallis is a serious issue that the MCF must stop immediately.”

“Police stopped us from marching further, so we sat down near the Hanuman temple and raised slogans". On Saturday, the police detained protesters and vandalised all the tents at the protest site.

Protesters alleged that more than 50 to 60 loaded trucks have arrived at the site since Saturday evening to dump waste. One protester warned, “If the dumping continues at this rate, Faridabad could soon face another Bandhwari-like waste crisis,” referring to the waste dumping site at Bandhwari.

Devendra Fagna, another protester and a local resident, said the protest would continue if the meeting with the ULB minister does not result in concrete action

Kailash Bhiduri, an advocate and trustee of the Save Aravallis Trust, alleged that the MCF is violating the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026, by dumping unsegregated waste at the “gair mumkin bandh” land.

“There is no segregation of waste, and the dumping of mixed waste is contaminating groundwater. We have filed complaints, but no action has been taken. Instead, the police are detaining people who are protesting against the dumping,” he said.

A senior MCF official said the site in question is not part of the Aravallis and belongs to the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL). “The site is being used temporarily until the new material processing facility is ready. We will stop dumping for the next 24 hours and will take a decision accordingly,” the official added.

MCF commissioner Yashendra Singh did not respond to HT’s calls and messages.

On Saturday, Faridabad police detained around 40 people protesting against the MCF’s alleged dumping of municipal solid waste at the Aravalli foothills. Earlier on October 16, the Faridabad police detained multiple protestors and removed their tents and formed a human chain to let MCF garbage trucks through to dump waste.