Explosions heard at Aravalli range, ‘illegal miners’ booked

Narayan said the alleged illegal miners fled with their machinery by the time the team reached, but they saw some of the trucks that had damaged substantial hillocks in the protected Aravallis.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Narayan said, “We will take strict action against all those responsible. An FIR was lodged over the weekend. I have ordered that the mining department make a fresh and clear demarcation of the border by erecting new pillars and signboards. We will assess and ascertain the full damage done thereafter.”

He said the FIR has been lodged against unknown persons under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.

Mining in the Aravalli region in Gurgaon, Faridabad, and Nuh districts was prohibited in 2002. In May, the SC had taken exception to the Haryana government’s alleged inaction against illegal mining in the Aravallis in Nuh. It had noted that the mining mafia in the region seemed to be protecting the errant officials aiding the illegalities.

The court sought a detailed report from the Haryana government by July 15, and said it found the chief secretary’s affidavit evasive and insufficient for shifting the onus to the forest department.

In June, the Haryana government had began efforts to restore 25,000 hectares of degraded forest area in the Aravallis — long been hailed as the “lungs” of the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Aravalli range passes through Gurgaon, Nuh, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Mahendergarh, and Charkhi Dadri districts of Haryana. Nuh has the largest recorded forest area among these, with 14,606 hectares. The range, which extends from Southwest Gujarat in Champaner to Northeast Delhi and Haryana, acts as a natural barrier against incursion of sand, loo, and dust from the Thar desert.