Times of
India: Gurgaon: Wednesday, September 04, 2019.
Only
eight cases of illegal mining have been recorded in the last 28 months, the
district mining department said in an RTI response.
In
2018 and 2019, two cases were recorded each. The number was four in 2017. While
the two cases in 2019 were from Farrukhnagar and Naurangpur, in 2018, both the
cases were reported from Pipaka village in Nuh district. The four cases in 2017
were recorded from Pandala, Kakrola, Pandala, and Bar Gujjar villages.
In
these months, the department has collected penalties amounting to Rs. 10,67,767
from 26 vehicles and individuals found to be carrying out illegal mining
activities.
The
numbers were much higher in the period between April 2014 and April 2017 when
20 cases were recorded and Rs 5.63L was seized in relation to illegal mining.
“After
the Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban over mining activities in the Aravalis,
there are hardly any cases of mining reported from the region. Every case has
been reported to the police stations in the respective areas. We take immediate
and strict action as soon as we receive complaints from any area,” said an
official from the mining department.
Activists,
however, claim that mining in smaller scale continues to eat up several
hillocks of the Aravalis. “Even though large scale mining activities are not
reported from the Aravalis anymore, small scale activities are ongoing,
especially in Faridabad. This is leading to gradual destruction of the hills.
Many times, these small violations are reported to the department, but the
violators get away,” said Jitender Bhadana from Save Aravali, an NGO that works
on environment.
“It
is unfortunate that the cases of mining are still being recorded in the
Aravalis, despite the blanket ban imposed by the Supreme Court. There is a need
for proper check over mining activities by the department, said Aseem Takyar,
the RTI applicant.
The
Supreme Court, in 2002, put a blanket ban on mining in Gurugram, Mewat and
Faridabad. The Aravali hills help in groundwater recharge for a large part of
Delhi-NCR and are home to diverse flora and fauna. But illegal mining is
causing its gradual disappearance.