NGT again seeks report on illegal mining in Surajkund

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, April 7

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a reminder to the authorities concerned to file a compliance report regarding the notice issued by it in response to a petition filed in September last year.

The NGT in its reminder issued on April 3 said that the tribunal vide its order dated January 7, 2019, in response to a petition (LN Parashar versus state of Haryana) had directed the authorities to file a compliance report but that had not been filed so far. “You are therefore requested to file the report immediately in compliance with the aforesaid order and please note that no further intimation in this regard will be given now,” stated the reminder issued to the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the SDM, Faridabad, among others.

The petitioner, LN Parashar, who is head of NGO Nayayik Sudhar Samiti, had lodged a complaint through the petition in September 2018, alleging that indiscriminate and large-scale mining and construction activity had been on in the ecological fragile area of Surajkund and the Aravalli region which is a forest area protected by the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900. Alleging that stone worth several hundred crores of rupees had either been mined already or was being extracted from here by the builder and mining mafia enjoying the patronage of not only the high and mighty but also the support of certain district officials. Claiming that despite the recent order of the Supreme Court of declaring the constructions in the Kant Enclave as illegal, the mafia had been continuously engaged in illegal construction and extraction of stone used as building material.

“While deep gorges had replaced several small hills by the mining and the construction activity, it had damaged badly the ecology of the area declared as conserved forest,” said Jitender Bhadana of ‘Save Aravalli’, an NGO working in the field of environment.