New Delhi, June 7 -- 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. The latest CAQM order addressed to the HSPCB's member secretary directs the board to examine the matter and submit its findings based on complaints filed by locals. "Around five sewage treatment plants (STPs) belonging to the public health engineering department (PHED) operating in the area fail to meet adequate disposal norms. Poor disposal mechanism from nearby open drain in Jarthal village (in Rewari) leads to wastewater accumulation in Kharkhra, Masani, Titarpur, Khadiyawas, Nikhri, Niganiyawas and Rahliyawas," said Prakash Yadav, a resident of Dharuhera, demanding that the quality of water released into the barrage be independently tested every fifteen days. A senior HSPCB official said the last sampling exercise conducted at the barrage in February found biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of 30 milligrams per litre (mg/l), far above the prescribed limit of 10 mg/l. "The STPs operating in the vicinity have been directed to improve their BOD levels, which were found to be nearly 80 mg/l in February," the senior official said. When asked about the actions taken, VP Chauhan, executive engineer at PHED, said that while membrane and filter replacements were completed at a 9.5 million gallon per day (MLD) STP, a trial run was commissioned for another 6.5-10 MLD STP at Karuwas in May, which is expected to stabilise water quality within the next three months. "Proposals for keeping industrial effluents at two other 8 and 16-MLD STPs have been prepared, with the government's high-powered purchase committee likely to issue work orders soon," Chauhan said. Officials at the irrigation department have prepared a plan to set up a tertiary treatment facility with two-segment tanks to carry treated and waste water separately, along with linking the existing plants with Jhajjar-link Drain 8. "After tender allotments for laying an 18-km pipeline in May, work on a 6km stretch has already begun. Once treated wastewater is channelled through the Sahibi system and linked to Drain 8, accumulated polluted water at the barrage is expected to be gradually cleared. The project also provides for the creation of three ponds to support groundwater rejuvenation," a senior official familiar with the project said, asking not to be named....