M A I N   N E W S

Illegal mining leaves scars in Aravallis
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Ferozepur Rajput/Mathepur (Faridabad), September 1
Throwing the Supreme Court ban on mining in Aravallis to the winds, mining mafia in the region has restarted its clandestine operations, causing irreparable loss to the ecology of the land.

The modification in the initial order of the Apex Court, with regard to allowing mining in areas which do not require the mandatory Environment Management Plan (EMP), is being undermined by the mafia, reportedly led by a powerful politician from Faridabad. Several small hillocks in the remote villages of Faridabad district are now being mined for their sand, silica and stone to feed the huge construction industry in Faridabad and Gurgaon districts of Haryana, as well as the Capital.

Just beyond the Delhi- Faridabad- Gurgaon border, gigantic scars mark the Aravallis. Till about six months back, what were once hills about 2 km in diameter and hundreds of feet high, have now turned into pits filled with water. A visit to Mathepur village near here, showed that villagers were themselves mining sand, silica and stones. Inquiries made at the Department of Mines and Geology, Haryana, revealed that no mining contract had been allotted for this.

In Ferozepur Rajput, a village near Palwal, this correspondent found that mining of sand as well as stone was on. This in spite of the fact that the quarry was allotted through contract in an auction for Rs 71000 per annum, for mining of stone only. During the mining of stones, the lessee, Ram Avtaar, who enjoys the political patronage of a powerful politician from Faridabad, found sand in the mines. Under the rules, the lessee of a stone quarry given on contract (against the system of lease) is not allowed to take out any minor mineral, which is not specified in the contract.

The Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964, as applicable to Haryana, provide that if any minor mineral not specified in the lease is discovered within the lease area, the lessee shall report about the discovered mineral without delay to the government and shall not sell such minor mineral without obtaining the lease thereof. If he fails to apply for a lease within six months of the discovery of the minor mineral, the government or its authorised officer may give the lease in respect of such mineral to any other person. But this rule is applicable to only those mines which are given on lease and not auctioned.

Though the lessee has applied for mining of sand also from this quarry, the permission has so far not been granted to him. His application was sent to the Legal Remembrancer, who said that under the existing rules the department cannot give permission to the existing contractor. The case was then referred to the Advocate-General, Haryana. The latter, too, said that mining contract for the new mineral (sand) cannot be given to the contractor, and recommended that mining rights of the new mineral should be auctioned.

Initially, the Apex Court had imposed a blanket ban on all kinds of mining activities in the 250 km Aravalli mountain range from Haryana to Rajasthan. After this modification in the court orders, mining activities in Rajasthan were resumed as also in seven quarries in Faridabad district which did not require EPM- at Ferozepur Rajput, Bajida Pahari (both near Palwal),Begawali, Godawali, Ransika, Sarohi and Khori. These quarries were earlier regarded as minor by the mining industry, but gained importance following the modification of the SC order.

It may be pointed out that the Central Bureau of Investigations is already inquiring into the illegal mining in Faridabad district, under the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had ordered the inquiry on a petition moved by a Faridabad scribe, who had alleged that a Haryana Minister was instrumental in illegal mining in the Ishak mandi area of Faridabad.