New Delhi, Oct 28 Environmental activists and rural communities in South Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri and Mahendergarh districts have asked the Supreme Court-appointed Aravalli committee to recommend an immediate ban on mining in the region and restore the affected areas.
The development came during the committee’s field visit and public consultations held in the two districts on Tuesday, Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, an environmental group, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Formed through an order in May, the Aravalli panel is currently conducting an independent review of the Centre’s report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range. It has to submit its final report by November 30.
Neelam Ahluwalia, co-founder of Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, said, “We urge the committee to recommend an absolute ban on mining in water-stressed dark zones like Mahendergarh and other districts, cancellation of mining leases of those breaching the groundwater table and mining beyond their lease areas.”
She added the panel should also recommend “undertaking a cumulative environmental, social and health assessment of the damage done in the Aravalli range over the last few decades by mining, stone crushing, cement plants, and waste dumping”.
In a statement, Satyanarayan, a resident of Rajawas village in Mahendergarh district, highlighted that groundwater levels in the village and block had already plunged to 1,500-2,000 feet.
“Mining here threatens Khasra number 99, where a vital community rainwater pond is currently being linked to canals under the Central government’s Atal Bhujal Yojana,” he added.
Yogbir Sangwan, environmental activist from Pandwan village in Charkhi Dadri, raised concerns regarding illegal operations and administrative intimidation.
He said, “In villages like Pichopa Kalan and Manakwas, mining entities are actively extracting far beyond their lease areas. Overloaded vehicles run openly through the protection of illicit WhatsApp informer networks, and when local enforcement officers try to intervene, armed mafia elements attack them.”
“If these unchecked operations are not halted immediately, the entire ecological and social safety fabric of South Haryana will collapse,” said Sangwan.
(PTI News)
