Gurgaon: Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday restrained Haryana govt, Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and other respondents from dumping any further waste on 152 acres of a fragile land parcel until the next date of hearing, Dec 4. A division bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the interim direction while hearing a petition alleging that unsegregated municipal waste dumping had resumed at the site despite an undertaking before National Green Tribunal (NGT) to utilise the land for environmental restoration and afforestation.The petition was filed by Anil Arora and others against Haryana govt, MCF, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), Haryana Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department and other authorities. According to the petition, the dispute concerns New Ash Dyke, measuring approximately 152.4 acres, located in the ecologically fragile Aravali region near Sainik Colony (Faridabad). The petition said that the land had been reclaimed by HPGCL and was earmarked for environmental restoration and afforestation following proceedings before NGT in an earlier matter concerning the disposal of ash at the site.The petition traces the dispute to an NGT order of March 25, in which the tribunal, as per the petitioner, had directed HPGCL to explore the possibility of developing a dense plantation, including a Miyawaki forest, over the reclaimed 152-acre land for environmental betterment and submit a compliance report within three months.“The grievance is with regard to 152 acres of fragile land of which there is allegedly an undertaking by the department pursuant to the orders of NGT not to use such land for dumping etc., and the area is to be utilized for afforestation purposes. It is submitted that despite such orders, the respondents have again resumed dumping of waste in the area… In the facts of the case, we restrain the respondents from dumping any further waste over the land till the next date of hearing,” read the interim order.The direction came after additional advocate general Deepak Balyan accepted notice on behalf of the state and other respondents and sought time to file a reply. The court granted the request, directing that the response be filed before the next date of hearing. The petition claimed that HPGCL submitted its compliance report on June 30, recording a commitment that the 152.4-acre reclaimed land would be earmarked for phased afforestation and plantation by the forest department under the Institutional Land Scheme. Relying on the undertaking, NGT disposed of a subsequent miscellaneous application on August 13, 2026, as per the petition.The petition claimed that a letter sent by the range forest officer, Ballabgarh, to HPGCL on Oct 7 recorded that the forest department had carried out plantation over 10 hectares at the site during 2026-27 under the Institutional Land Scheme, but MCF vehicles had started dumping garbage adjacent to and over the plantation area, damaging young saplings. However, the petition alleged that following the closure of the NGT proceedings, HPGCL on Oct 15 this year gave permission to MCF to use 50 acres of the reclaimed land for municipal solid waste management. The petitioners also alleged that this action was contrary to the earlier NGT directions and the undertaking given by HPGCL.Another document cited in the petition is a representation given by Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) to the MCF commissioner on Oct 13. The institution raised concerns over municipal and plastic waste dumping in the immediate vicinity of its campus, stating that it could threaten sensitive scientific instruments, research projects and public health.
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