The twin villages of Rakhi Shahpur and Rakhi Khas in Hisar District of Haryana enclose the site of Rakhigarhi, one of the oldest and largest Indus Valley sites yet known. ITRHD has been involved with Rakhigarhi for the last many years, and due to our efforts and coordination with state and central Governments, excavation (which had been stopped) was resumed and a major site museum is under construction. See Rakhigarhi Indus Valley Civilization (Haryana) for information on the entire project.

From the beginning, ITRHD recognized that Rakhigarhi will eventually receive UNESCO World Heritage status and become a major tourist destination. This was confirmed by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in presenting the Union Budget for 2020, which includes Rakhigarhi as one of the five archaeological sites that will be developed for cultural and historical tourism.

Before this can happen, several other aspects of community development must be addressed. One of these is the need for good solid waste management. Taking on this responsibility, ITRHD secured funding from IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited), which enabled us to develop a program in collaboration with Manav Rachna University in Faridabad, an institution with proven expertise in this area.

A team from Manav Rachna made intensive analytical studies of the villages and the specific needs, and then designed a tailor-made system. Students and several foreign experts participated in the process, and made visits to the village. In the process, villagers were trained in the waste collection and management of the processing equipment. The system was inaugurated just after Christmas 2019, in the presence of the entire Manav Rachna team, the Chairman and senior officers of ITRHD, and a good percentage of the resident population.