Not just miners, industrial waste is laying siege to Aravalis along Haryana-Rajasthan border
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The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) got a tip-off from locals about industrial waste being burnt in the open in Khori Kalan village. A team went to the site and saw two large cauldrons were being used to set afire toxic chemical waste in the woods.
HSPCB officials told TOI on Wednesday that these makeshift burners were dismantled, but they suspect that the forested border region, among the few preserves of green left in the Aravalis, are increasingly becoming dumping grounds for industrial waste transported from across state lines.
"Waste may be transported from industrial hubs in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi, Khush Khera and Dharuhera," said Akanksha Tanwar, HSPCB regional officer (Nuh). HSPCB on June 17 wrote to the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board about industrial waste burning by factories in Bhiwadi.
"We have written to RSPCB regarding the issue and to ensure that the industries do not dump and burn chemical waste in the Aravalis," Tanwar said.
The hills along the Haryana-Rajasthan border are already under the Supreme Court's scanner for illegal mining. With enforcement in this rocky terrain particularly tricky, officials and environmentalists said the region is already under duress.
"Illegal burning of industrial waste in forest land not only violates pollution norms but also endangers the entire ecosystem," the HSPCB regional officer added.
"This is not an isolated incident.
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The Aravalis are fast becoming an unofficial dumping ground. Burning industrial waste releases toxic pollutants into the air, contributing to environmental degradation and posing serious health risks to nearby communities. Authorities from both states must coordinate better and increase surveillance," said Vaishali Rana, a Gurgaon-based activist.
Khori Kalan villagers, too, said they have been raising an alarm about billowing smoke and pungent odour emanating from the forest area.
"Waste is brought from the across the border and illegally burnt in our village. This has been going on for years. Cattle in our village have been dying from drinking wastewater that flows out of chemical residues and villagers have been suffering from skin diseases and breathing ailments. These units are still operational," said Shabad, a resident of Khori Kalan.
Reports of industrial waste being discharged into the Aravalis of Nuh go back almost a decade.
HSPCB, in 2016, issued closure notices to several units operating in the area. A similar order was issued in 2023.
TOI, in Dec 2022, also reported about waste burning units like these operating in Khori Kalan.
And last year, Nuh resident Usman Khan filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Punjab and Haryana high court, giving a detailed account of how a broader operation for illegal industrial waste dumping was going on in the hills.
According to the PIL, these makeshift units -- scattered across Khori Kala, Khori Khurd and Khori Kalan villages of Nuh – routinely get plastic and metal drums filled with chemical waste, scrap and rubber. This waste is manually segregated and then burnt in large cauldrons using kerosene or similar fuels.
Other than toxic fumes, this process generates a charred, semi-solid residue locally called "gulla", which is then sold onwards as fuel to industries, the PIL alleged.
The petition is pending before the HC.
Activists said waste dumping and mining were a double whammy to the Aravalis of the region.
"Each time a hill is blasted, we lose not just a physical structure but also the ecosystem it supports. The Aravalis are living systems. They are home to wildlife corridors, and they are groundwater recharge zones and climate regulators. Illegal mining and unchecked dumping and burning of industrial waste has poisoned the air and soil. Together, these practices are pushing one of India's oldest mountain ecosystems toward irreversible collapse," said Sunil Harsana, an ecologist.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case on unauthorised construction of roads to facilitate transportation of illegally quarried stones from Haryana's Nuh to Rajasthan, where there is no ban on mining the Aravalis.
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