'Illegal mining ruined Aravalis in Haryana, Rajasthan'

NEW DELHI: Illegal mining has punctured Aravalis in Haryana and devastated the mountain range in Rajasthan despite the Supreme Court's ban, a high-level environment protection panel said in its report to the apex court on Saturday.
Illegal mining activities increased sharply during the election season in Haryana. "Beginning from early 2014, there has been a sharp increase in illegal mining in a number of villages in Mewat," said the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in its report through its member-secretary M K Jiwrajka.
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Spurt in illegal mining activities in Mewat district, adjacent to Gurgaon and Faridabad, happened as mafia took advantage of the pre-occupation of police and administration with the Lok sabha elections, it said.
The report was filed in response to SC direction on a PIL filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which alleged rampant illegal mining in Haryana and Rajasthan.
The CEC team, headed by chairman P V Jayakrishnan and members Mahendra Vyas and M K Muthoo, visited the affected areas of Aravali on July 8 with the officials concerned. It also found significant illegal mining in Bhopawali, Kalanjar and Bazidpur villages.
While going from one village to another in Haryana, the CEC team touched vantage points overlooking Alwar district and was shocked by the devastation caused by illegal mining in Rajasthan.
The CEC report submitted through A D N Rao, amicus curiae before the green bench headed by Justice J S Khehar, said: "The area in and around village Udhanwas in Tijara Tehsil appears to have been completely devastated by massive illegal mining."
Adopting an ostrich-like approach, Haryana said: "Repeated attempts were being made for the last few years by certain vested interests alleging illegal mining in the state whereas the fact was that the illegal mining was taking place on the Rajasthan side, which had also been observed by the CEC team at an earlier occasion in 2011 and during the present visit."
CEC found illegal mining rampant in Mewat district because of "lack of adequate livelihood opportunities, unemployment, economic and social backwardness, nature of terrain and the huge gap between demand and supply of construction material because of continued ban on mining and consequent steep increase in the prices of construction material".

Rampant illegal mining at Aravali hills in Alwar. (TOI photo)
It said Haryana has taken measures to control the menace of illegal mining. "These include deployment of about 700 police personnel and 200 home guards and ex-servicemen in the district, sealing of inter-state border, establishment of check-posts, setting up of joint pickets in major stone crusher zones, mobile patrolling and introduction of transit permits with security features," the CEC said.
However, it said: "In spite of the directions passed by the Supreme Court from time to time, the illegal mining has not been effectively controlled by Haryana and Rajasthan. But the situation in Mewat district is under control because of special drive undertaken by the state."
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The CEC has suggested following measures by Haryana and Rajasthan to curb illegal mining:
* Confiscation of vehicles transporting illegally mined minerals; release of vehicles only by an officer designated by the chief secretary
* Rajasthan and Haryana to prepare and implement an effective action plan for protection of areas vulnerable to illegal mining
* Functioning of stone crushers, located adjoining the inter-state border, be monitored to ensure that they do not receive any illegally mined stones
* Mineral transported without a valid transit permit/forest permit will be deemed to be illegal mineral and which is liable to be confiscated
* Chief secretaries of Haryana and Rajasthan to file quarterly Action Taken Report regarding implementation of SC directions on curbing illegal mining