Delhi and Haryana Drive Revival of Polluted Sahibi River Stretch
Delhi and Haryana are undertaking parallel efforts to reclaim the lost glory of the Sahibi River, once a natural waterway but now reduced to a polluted urban drain. While the Delhi government prepares to officially rename the Najafgarh drain to generate public momentum for the river’s revival, Haryana is tracing and attempting to reacquire a critical 11-kilometre missing stretch downstream of the Masani barrage in Rewari.
The Sahibi River, originally a seasonal river originating in Rajasthan, vanished downstream of the barrage due to urban encroachment, unregulated discharge, and infrastructural neglect. The missing 11km segment between Masani and the Delhi border has left the once-flowing creek reduced to a dry, fragmented bed, now partially owned by private landholders and intersected by sewage drains from Gurgaon and Jhajjar. To reverse this ecological erasure, Haryana has notified two major channels — the Aurangpur Link Drain and Outfall Drain No. 8 — as formal extensions of the Sahibi river. These act as conduits to revive the watercourse before it enters Delhi at the Dhansa regulator, officials said. The restoration, however, is being hampered by land ownership disputes and absence of official river marking in revenue records.
In Delhi, the Irrigation and Flood Control (IFC) Department had already submitted a proposal to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last year to rename the Najafgarh drain as the Sahibi River, citing its historical identity and the psychological shift that a change in nomenclature could trigger in public perception. According to a report filed on 11 May 2024, archival documents from 1807 refer to the channel as “Sabee Nullah”, a name that continued until its rebranding as the Najafgarh canal in later colonial maps. The IFC stated that renaming the waterway would help galvanise citizen support, boost political will, and ensure regulatory backing for the large-scale rejuvenation effort, which includes sewage treatment, silt removal, and illegal dumping control.
Haryana’s task, however, is more complicated. A senior irrigation official confirmed that while parts of the creek have been identified through contour mapping, approximately 350 acres of the original riverbed are now under private ownership. This land, once a watercourse, was gradually repurposed for agriculture after the natural flow of the Sahibi ceased post-barrage, with no legal demarcation of it as a river stretch. “Our field survey indicates that from the Masani Barrage to Gurgaon district, there is currently no water flow. Because of this, residents began cultivating the land, and it is now listed as private property in revenue documents,” the official disclosed. “Reacquisition of this land at collector rates has faced verbal resistance, and the process remains frozen until a reliable water source can be secured.”
The reacquisition, apart from being an administrative challenge, is also a financial one. Authorities say decisions on acquisition will depend heavily on assured water availability, particularly during non-monsoon periods. For now, revival efforts rely on diverted flow from canals and storm drains, offering seasonal life to the creek but little continuity. Meanwhile, the Delhi government’s 2022–23 budget, which had earmarked ₹705 crore to rejuvenate the Sahibi/Najafgarh waterway, remains largely unspent. A senior official connected to the earlier phase of the project admitted that the budget also covered roadworks, sports facilities, transit infrastructure, and urban greening, which diverted focus and funds. “While it was politically presented as a river revival allocation, actual implementation has been minimal so far,” he revealed.
Environmental experts have long flagged the Najafgarh drain as the largest single contributor of untreated sewage to the Yamuna River. Government estimates suggest it discharges between 31 to 35 cubic metres per second, dwarfing the output of other tributary drains like Shahdara, which averages 4–6 cubic metres. Despite official declarations and ecological reports, public discourse still largely views the Sahibi as a dead river — an image both states are attempting to rewrite. Delhi has launched plans for legacy waste removal, bio-diversion of incoming drains, and potential integration of treated wastewater to maintain flow.
However, without structural support from Haryana — particularly in restoring the critical upstream stretch — Delhi’s efforts risk stagnation. Both states acknowledge that cross-border cooperation, community engagement, and legal clarity on river land classification will be vital to bring the Sahibi back from oblivion.
As Delhi finalises its State Names Authority proposal and Haryana races to demarcate and negotiate land reacquisition, the revival of the Sahibi river hinges on navigating a complex mix of history, hydrology, and human settlement. Whether these plans can transform a toxic drain into a blue-green corridor will now depend on timely execution and sustained public will.
