Great Nicobar swap: Haryana’s mining plans in protected forests raise concerns
The Great Nicobar swap, offered as compensation for deforestation in the Great Nicobar Island project, has come under scrutiny. The land, previously notified as a protected forest, was e-auctioned by Haryana for setting up stone crushers in Mahendragarh, sparking local opposition.
What is the Great Nicobar swap?
The Great Nicobar swap refers to the ambitious yet controversial plan of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to divert 130 sq km of pristine tropical forest on Great Nicobar Island for a mega development project. The project involves clearing the forest to construct an international airport, shipping port, power plant, and township covering 160 sq km of land. In February 2023, the ministry decided to carry out compensatory afforestation 2,400 km away in the Aravalli region of Haryana, an area previously declared a protected forest.
What is Haryana’s role in the Great Nicobar swap?
Haryana, with one of the poorest forest covers in the country, has been chosen for compensatory afforestation, with only around 3.5 per cent of its land under forest cover. To address this, the state has declared 24,353 hectares of the Aravalli forest, spanning across Gurugram, Nuh, Rewari, Mahendragarh, and Charkhi Dadri districts, as protected areas. Haryana has submitted a compensatory afforestation plan to the Union Ministry in 2024 and is set to receive Rs 3,000 crore for revival efforts. The largest portion of the protected forest falls within Nuh district, followed by Mahendragarh, Rewari, Gurugram, and Charkhi Dadri.
What is the controversy over protected forest land in Mahendragarh?
The Nicobar swap was seen as Haryana’s golden opportunity to revive the dying Aravalli forests. However, the state’s intentions came under scrutiny when 25 per cent of the protected land was e-auctioned for mining purposes. On June 20, 2023, the state issued a notification designating 506 acres of Aravalli land in Rajawas village, Mahendragarh, as ‘protected’ under the Forest (Conservation) Act. Surprisingly, on the same day, the mining department auctioned one-quarter of this protected land to a company, allowing them to quarry stones and deploy three stone crushers. This decision sparked widespread outrage, with the mining department claiming they were unaware of the land’s protected status. Locals then approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT), highlighting the potential consequences of quarrying, including damage to the fragile ecosystem and decreased quality of life.
What is the current status of locals’ plea in NGT?
The residents of Rajawas village filed an Intervention Application 61/2025 on January 27 in Original Application Number 1203/2024 that was registered suo-moto by NGT in early October 2024 to examine the issue of the Haryana Government, auctioning one-fourth of the 506.33 acres of the Aravalli protected forest land in the village for mining and stone crushing activities.
In the order dated April 4, NGT directed that since a serious issue of permitting mining on the protected forest area without requisite permission is involved, the Haryana Government authorities have to ensure that no illegal mining takes place in the area till the next date of hearing on August 7. The respondents include Inspector General of Forest, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi; Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Haryana; District Magistrate, Mahendragarh; Member Secretary, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Haryana; Secretary, Haryana Mining Department, and project proponent M/s Landsworthy Mining & Infra LLP have been directed to file their responses within four weeks.
