Members of the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement had undertaken field visits in the Aravalli areas in Gurugram, Nuh and Faridabad around India’s National Capital Region from March 2021 to March 2022 and found illegal stone and sand mining happening in 16 locations in contravention of judicial verdicts and environment protection laws. In many locations, we found substantial portions of the hills mined and, in some instances, completely razed to the ground. This negatively impacts the pollution levels and water security of the highly polluted and water stressed National Capital Region as Aravallis are NCR’s green lungs and biggest source of ground water recharge. Many of the areas of illegal mining fall under the protection of the Punjab Land Preservation Act which prohibits cutting of trees, clearing of land and mining of stones in the Haryana Aravallis. Mining is completely banned in the Aravallis falling in Faridabad, Gurugram and Nuh districts in the State of Haryana according to the Hon’ble Supreme Court order dated 8.05.2009 in the M.C. Mehta Vs. Union of India case. The Notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change dated 07.05.1992 also prohibits mining operations in the Aravalli range in Gurugram and Nuh.
This blog gives details of illegal sand and stone mining in the NCR Aravallis in India’s National Capital Region.
LEGAL CASE FILED IN NGT FOR ILLEGAL MINING IN 3 DISTRICTS OF HARYANA ARAVALLIS
With the use of GIS technology, satellite images and toposheets of the illegal mining areas were prepared for the years 2011 and 2022. The images and comparison made clearly shows that mining is continuing despite the ban on mining in these areas. On 12th of May 2022, we filed a legal case (Application No. 362/2022 Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement Versus Union of India & Ors.) in the National Green Tribunal for illegal stone and sand mining in a total of 16 locations in the Aravallis in Gurugram, Nuh and Faridabad through Environment Lawyers Rahul Choudhary and Ritwick Dutta.
Prayers in the legal petition are as follows:
- Government authorities take steps to stop illegal stone and sand mining.
- Strict action is taken against defaulting officials.
- Native planting and restoration activities are undertaken in the degraded mining areas.
- Constitute an independent Aravalli Protection Authority for protection of the entire Aravalli range across the 4 states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat as the state governments are failing to protect the Aravallis despite so many laws and court orders.
- Through our subsequent submissions to NGT, we also asked for the use of drones by the Haryana government to monitor the Aravalli hills, suggested the promotion of alternative building materials like fly ash bricks and earth bricks by the state of Haryana so that the Aravalli hills are not razed to the ground to feed the construction and real estate industry and suggested names of independent ecological and conservation experts who should be part of the Aravalli Rejuvenation Board set up via orders from the NGT under this case.
HIGHLIGHTS OF POSITIVE ACTION FOR HARYANA ARAVALLIS AS A RESULT OF ILLEGAL MINING CASE FILED IN NGT
The National Green Tribunal Bench comprising Hon’ble Justice Mr. Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Mr. Afroz Ahmad have given strong court orders in 2022, 2023 and 2024 in Application No. 362/2022 Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement Versus Union of India & Ors.
As a result of this legal case and various orders passed by the NGT, following actions have been taken by the Haryana government so far:
- A Control Room has been set up in Faridabad for all 7 Aravalli Districts in Haryana for citizens to make complaints regarding illegal stone and sand mining in the Aravallis.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to prevent illegal mining have been framed and communicated to all field offices.
- Deputy Commissioners of all Aravalli districts have been directed to take steps in accordance with NGT order dated 26.02.2021 in O.A No. 360/2015 titled as NGT Bar Association Vs. Virender Singh for preventing illegal mining.
- District Level Task Force Committees have been constituted and are functioning in all the three districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad and Nuh to examine issues relating to illegal mining.
- Enforcement mechanism, effective monitoring and strict vigil in the mining areas using Drones and other techniques in all the Aravalli districts will be done by the District Level Task Force according to the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016 and Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
- Aravalli Rejuvenation Board has been constituted in the 3 districts of Gurgaon, Nuh and Faridabad to achieve integrated environment management of the Aravalli range in Haryana. Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement (ABCM) is pushing for this Aravalli Rejuvenation Board to be at the state level instead of separate boards for the districts. ABCM has also made submissions in NGT to say that this Board must have 50% representation of independent ecological and conservation experts and active urban and rural citizens.
- Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has set up district level and state level committees to prepare, implement and monitor restoration plans of illegally mined areas in 7 Aravalli districts. Representatives of Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement (ABCM) are part of the state level committee to approve and monitor progress of these district restoration plans. Independent ecological experts recommended by ABCM are being brought on board to help the forest officials do the baseline surveys to make scientifically based restoration plans in all the 7 Aravalli districts in Haryana.
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