Illegal mining in Nuh threatens biodiversity of Aravalli hills

Nuh (IANS). The biodiversity of the Aravalli hill range in northwestern India is facing serious threats, especially those passing through the Mewat region. Illegal mining and real estate activities continue unabated here despite repeated orders from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.

These illegal practices, supported by some political parties and mining and land mafia, have been going on for years. A section of the local community is benefiting from these.

Last year, a DSP rank officer of Haryana Police was allegedly killed while investigating illegal stone mining in Mewat. His murder has brought into focus the lack of implementation of law and court orders by political parties and administrative officials due to which illegal mining continues to flourish in Nuh.

Recently, to curb illegal mining, the police have taken action by keeping 29 notorious villages of Nuh under continuous drone surveillance. Most of these villages are situated in the foothills of Aravalli range bordering Rajasthan.

These villages include Pachgaon where Tauru DSP Surendra Singh Bishnoi was killed on July 19 last year while trying to stop trucks carrying illegally mined stones. Other villages include Kharak Jalalpur, Chahalka, Chhajjupur, Silkho Nurpur, Pachgaon, Salaka, Malaka.

Illegal activities are widespread in these villages, with many families directly involved in mining or transporting illegally mined minerals.

A senior police officer said, “The Nuh police has been conducting an awareness campaign for more than a year to educate the villagers about illegal activities. After outsourcing the surveillance operations, they now use their own drones and handlers to closely monitor the area, including the movement of vehicles carrying illegally mined stones.”

Notably, as per the report of the mining department, till July 14 this year, a fine of Rs 1.39 crore has been imposed and 71 vehicles seized for illegal mining in the district.

One challenge in controlling illegal mining in the region is the presence of leased mines in the neighboring state of Rajasthan, allowing contractors to exploit additional areas.

To tackle this, for the first time, Haryana plans to erect pillars along its border with Rajasthan in the south, to make it easier to separate the state’s territory from that of its neighbour.

Officials claimed that the move would help stop illegal mining of stones in the Aravalli Hills.

While mining is banned in South Haryana, it is not so in Rajasthan. This creates jurisdictional ambiguities that mining mafias often take advantage of. By installing pillars, the mining department intends to stop people from intruding into the Aravalli forest area from Rajasthan.

Nuh is surrounded by Gurugram in the north, Palwal in the east and Alwar in Rajasthan in the south and west. The terrain of this region comprises of rolling rocky hills with minimal vegetation.