The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to act on complaints of rising pollution levels at the Masani Barrage in Rewari’s Dharuhera town, officials said.
In the letter issued on Friday, the CAQM flagged concerns about continued wastewater discharge into the hydraulic reservoir along the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway.
Notably, the barrage has a catchment of up to 200 hectares in the Sahibi river basin and acts as a water management and flood control structure. The Sahibi river historically flowed toward the Yamuna river in Delhi, eventually merging into the Najafgarh drain and carrying its water straight into Yamuna.
Pollution in the Yamuna River within Delhi has reached critical new extremes recently, threatening public health and the city’s fragile ecosystem. Industrial effluents, untreated sewage from unauthorised colonies, and the lack of ecological flow are transforming large stretches of the river into a toxic, foam-covered drain, particularly during the post-monsoon season.
In April, the State Wetland Authority of Haryana sought the status of disposal norms followed at the reservoir from the district administration. The barrage is surrounded by 15 villages and remains under consideration for notification as a wetland, according to a letter issued by the authority.
