To curb mining, Haryana begins sealing forest trails
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, May 28
To curb illegal mining in the Aravallis, the Haryana Forest Department in Nuh has started sealing all pathways or forest trails to deter mining vehicles from scaling the hills. Such vehicles dig trenches on all routes leading to the previously used routes and on vulnerable mining sites in Ferozepur Jhirka, Punhana and Tauru.
A joint survey by the mining and police departments had identified around 100 such paths. A majority of these are near the Bharatpur border in Rajasthan.
The department has so far sealed 20 such pathways which were allegedly widened by the miners to allow dumpers and canters to illegally transport mining machines and quarried stones. With the joint efforts of local police, mining department and the forest officials, stone quarrying has been curtailed considerably in Haryana villages but the region is under constant threat of miners from Rajasthan and mud miners from local villages.
“Cutting access of vehicles is the best way to curb the menace. The miners clear the pathways overnight for their vehicles. We have stepped up vigil to stop their movement and are identifying more such pathways. We are also dealing with mud mining sternly as they too put hills at risk of landslides,” said Nuh District Forest Officer Vijender Singh.
The department is keeping a constant vigil on all these pathways as the miners repeatedly try to restore them. Sources said they fill up the trenches overnight and once their work is done, they again dig up to leave no evidence. The Forest Department has sought community participation and villages in the Aravalli foothills too have been roped in to alert in case of any vehicular movement along these areas. According to the department, no clear demarcation of forest land, easy access from Rajasthan to illegal mining zones and porous state borders help in illegal activity.
“We are getting locals sensitised towards the issue and they are helping us to trace vehicular movement in the gullible areas,” Singh said.
Nuh topped the state in mining complaints with around 400 cases being registered in 2022. The district saw a major crackdown on illegal mining after the murder of DSP Surender Singh in July last year, allegedly by the illegal miners. The SC had in 2002 and then again in 2009 banned mining of major and minor minerals in Aravalli hills in Faridabad, Gurugram and Mewat region falling in Haryana.
Cutting access
- 100 paths used for illegal mining identified
- 20 such pathways already sealed in Aravalli region
