Gurugram: Alleged illegal mining activities in a section of the ecologically sensitive Aravalli Hills in Haryana’s Nuh district have triggered an official crackdown, with the commissioner and secretary of the state mines and geology department, T.L. Satyaprakash, ordering a geospatial assessment of the area and the department lodging an FIR.
According to the FIR, which has been registered at the Haryana State Enforcement Bureau police station in Nuh, “fresh illegal mining was conducted within the boundaries of village Rawa”, which falls in a section of the Aravalli Hills covering both Haryana and neighbouring Rajasthan.
The mining operations involved extraction of approximately 6,000 tonnes of stone from a 200-metre-long, 10-metre-wide and 2-metre-deep site, says the FIR, which ThePrint has seen.
It further alleges that the illegal activity was linked to leaseholders operating in Plot No. 162 of Nangal village in Pahadi tehsil of Rajasthan’s Deeg district.
A senior official from the Haryana mines department told ThePrint that while mining in the Aravallis was banned in the state’s Faridabad district, no fresh mining licences had been issued for Nuh district either.
The FIR dated 23 December has been registered under sections 21 (1) and 303 (2), covering penalties, of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 on the complaint of the Nuh mining officer. Evidence, including GPS-tagged photographs, has been submitted with it.
“You are hereby informed that on 16.12.2024 and 17.12.2024, inspections were conducted by Anil Kumar, District Mining Officer, Nuh; Bhanupratap Singh, Mining Inspector; Rakesh Kumar, Mining Guard; and Bhupendra, Head Constable, in the non-permitted hills of village Rawa. During the inspection, it was found that fresh illegal mining had been conducted within the boundaries of village Rawa… resulting in extraction of approximately 6,000 metric tonne of stone,” reads the FIR.
“Initial investigation suggests that this illegal mining was carried out by mining leaseholders of the Rajasthan State Mines Department in Plot No. 162, Village Nangal, Tehsil Pahadi, District Deeg, Rajasthan,” it adds.
While Satyaprakash could not be contacted for his comments, the senior official from his department told ThePrint that the “illegally mined hill would cost the state exchequer more than Rs 20,000 crore”.
The complainant officer has requested an investigation, and for a case to be registered against mining leaseholders in the adjacent areas of Rajasthan for illegal mining in Rawa village .
The complainant has also requested that police patrols be increased in the region to prevent further illegal mining activities by the Rajasthan leaseholders within the Haryana border.
ThePrint reached out to P.R. Ameta, nodal officer in the Rajasthan mines department, via calls but they went unanswered.
In orders issued on 23 December, accessed by ThePrint, Satyaprakash has directed the district mining officer at Nuh to share details of all mining areas awarded on lease/contract/auction with the Haryana Space Applications Centre for geospatial assessment and volumetric analysis of the sites within 15 days.
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Aravallis threatened
The FIR by the Haryana mines department highlights the exploitation of natural resources, which violates the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.
The official mentioned earlier said the department was concerned about the blatant disregard for legal boundaries and environmental safeguards.
“Illegal mining poses a serious threat to the fragile ecosystem of the Aravallis, already under strain due to deforestation and urban encroachment,” said the official.
Often referred to as the “green lungs” of the region, the Aravallis act as a natural barrier against desertification and support rich biodiversity. However, rampant illegal mining has led to deforestation, groundwater depletion and habitat destruction, sparking protests from environmentalists and local residents.
Environmental activists have called for stricter enforcement of laws and greater public awareness to protect the hill range.
Speaking to ThePrint Wednesday, Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of the People for Aravallis group, said that according to the 2018 report by the centrally empowered committee of the Supreme Court, 31 Aravalli hills in Rajasthan’s Alwar district have been destroyed completely due to mining.
According to her, if a proper survey was done across the 692-km Aravalli range that extends from Gujarat to Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, the real picture of how many hills had been eaten away would become clear.
Ahluwalia said that as an independent state committee member of the National Green Tribunal, she had submitted to the government her ground truthing (comparing facts from official documents with the ground reality) report on mining in all seven Aravalli districts of Haryana in March this year. The report clearly said that between licensed mining and illegal mining, the Aravallis in Haryana were under huge threat, she said.
“In my report, I had recommended that the government immediately commission an independent study of the Aravallis to protect what is left of the oldest mountain range in the world which is critical for life in north west India. Without the Aravallis, which is our most critical water recharge zone and the only barrier protecting eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi from being swallowed up by the Thar desert, the life of millions of people, cattle, and wildlife is hugely at risk,” she added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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The FIR must be lodged against the employees of the district administration whose are responsible for monitoring and implementation of environmental rules and regulations.
Haryana government is corrupt from top to bottom.