Mining mafia brings down another Aravalli hill
In the fourth such incident in less than a year, the mining mafia blasted a hillock of the protected Aravalli range on the Haryana-Rajasthan border, making it collapse entirely within a few hours.
The incident reportedly occurred at Rava village in Nuh, but the Haryana mining authorities maintained it happened in neighbouring Rajasthan. A few villagers alleged that the blasting was conducted last evening with an aim to make the hill collapse overnight, but it crumbled today morning. The villagers shot videos — also available with The Tribune — of the hillock collapsing and shared these on social media and also with the mining authorities.
Haryana, Raj in jurisdiction war
- Nuh villagers maintain hillock blast occurred in their area, but Haryana mining officials claim it’s Rajasthan’s territory
- Blast was conducted on Friday night and the hill crumbled on Saturday morning
- Villagers shot videos of the hillock collapsing and even shared these with the mining authorities
- This is the fourth incident in less than a year when mining mafia blasted a hillock in the protected Aravallis on the Haryana-Rajasthan border
Incidentally, a Haryana Mining Department team was in the village when it all unfolded.
Mining Officer Anil Atwal said he had received visuals on his phone, but claimed the matter pertained to Rajasthan. “We have video evidence in our possession, but the incident is of Rajasthan. We cannot even comment whether it was done by licensed miners or the mining mafia,” Atwal told The Tribune.
The residents, for their part, lodged a complaint with the local administration and the police. They alleged that the hillock fell within Haryana’s jurisdiction, and that illegal mining was rampant in the area. “We heard the blast on Friday night. A portion of the hill collapsed immediately towards Rajasthan, but the entire hillock crumbled today when mining officials were present in the village. The mining mafia has been active in our area for the past two years. We hear blasts at night and the hills disappear within a few days. We complain, but to no avail,” said a panchayat member.
Haryana Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh has marked an inquiry, seeking to determine the revenue jurisdiction of the hill. Narbir had, nearly 10 days ago, said “Rajasthan would be made to pay for the losses incurred by Haryana on account of illegal mining in its territory by the neighbouring state”.
In 2023, over 8 crore metric tonnes worth of mining material spread across hills in Naharika, Chittora and Rava villages of Nuh had vanished, causing a loss of more than Rs 2,100 crore to Haryana. A hue and cry was raised and even FIRs were lodged, but no action has been taken to date. One side of these hills was located in Rajasthan and the other in Haryana, leading to a confusion over their jurisdiction, an official said. The area falls next to the Nangal crusher zone of Rajasthan.
The mining menace is rampant in around 30 villages on the Haryana-Rajasthan border. The mafia’s modus operandi is to conduct a blast on the Rajasthan side, where mining is legal to some extent, and eat into the hills of Haryana. A green activist alleged that the mining mafia was making the most of the jurisdictional confusion and the connivance of officials.
In February 2023, Haryana had started a survey to define the revenue limits of Rajasthan’s forests and hills. The neighbouring state, too, began a similar exercise, but none of the two accepted each other’s demarcation reports. Environmentalist Vaishali Rana Chandra said, “It’s sad that the states continue to pass the buck and spar over jurisdiction when Aravalli hills are disappearing.” A 2023 study by Rajasthan revealed that between 1975 and 2019, nearly 8 per cent of the Aravalli hills had disappeared. It projected the loss at 22 per cent by 2059 if the “explosive urbanisation” and illegal mining continued.
