Did Sahibi river flow on private land years ago, NGT asks Haryana Govt

Ravinder Saini

Rewari, March 3

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the state government, through its Chief Secretary (CS), to file an affidavit disclosing whether or not the Sahibi river (now dried up), used to flow through privately-owned land in 1957, 1964 and 1977 or if the land was subsequently allotted to private landowners.

The CS has also been asked to produce relevant extracts from revenue record, of the entire area of disputed land, from 1957 to date in a tabulated form with all relevant particulars.

The NGT issued the directive after hearing a petition filed by Prakash Yadav, a resident, who claimed that sewage, from a number of sewage treatments plants (STPs) being operated in Rewari district, was being discharged into hundreds of acres of vacant land in the dried-up basin of the Sahibi river. Yadav alleged that this had led to contamination of groundwater and also damaged the vegetation in the area.

Sources say the state’s irrigation authorities in its reply has referred to a committee’s report which stated that as per revenue record around 2.5 km of land in the Sahibi river bed belonged to private landowners of Jarthal village and downstream in Masani Barrage (on the boundary of Gurugram district) around 11 km belonged to private landowners, too. They also said that there was no land, particularly, marked for Sahibi river according to the revenue records.

“Undisputedly, Sahibi had been flowing from Rajasthan through Haryana and Delhi into Yamuna and had flooded in 1957, 1964 and 1977. The question that now arises is whether the river was flowing through land owned by private owners then or if it has subsequently been allotted to them,” stated the NGT order.

The order further stated “Other related questions arise whether in the revenue record the river exists or if the entire river bed is recorded under the names of private landowners and what remedial measures must be taken for the correction of the record. Another question is why the state government does not acquire the entire stretch through which the river used to flow to rejuvenate it. It may also be added that at least up to 1977 the river had its own course which has now been destroyed in a few areas.”

In view of problem in rejuvenating the river, the NGT found it appropriate to seek a response from the government. A source said, “The NGT asked the state if other rivers in the state existed on record, with land to their name, or if some parts of their river beds were recorded under names of private land owners, too?”