Cost of greed: Illegal mining threatens Kala Amb’s ecosystem, infrastructure

A rapidly escalating crisis is unfolding in Himachal Pradesh’s border town of Kala Amb, where rampant illegal mining along the Markanda river has begun to erode not only the region’s ecological balance but also the very foundations of its infrastructure.

Located in Sirmaur district on the border of Himachal and Haryana, Kala Amb — once regarded as a key industrial engine of the state — is now grappling with the consequences of administrative inaction and environmental degradation.

Residents, alarmed by the growing destruction, have submitted a detailed memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, urging immediate intervention to halt the mining activities. Supported by photographic and video evidence, the complaint identifies four critical sites—Markanda river banks, Suketi Industrial Area, Khari village and the Fossil Park—where large-scale illegal extraction is underway using heavy machinery such as JCBs and Poklen excavators.

Stretching from Moginand to the Haryana border, unauthorised tracks have been carved along the riverbanks to facilitate daily transportation of mined material into neighbouring Haryana. The continued silence of the mining, environment and the police departments has raised sharp concerns among locals and civil society, who allege systemic negligence and complicity.

The gravity of the situation was further underscored by BJP state president and former Nahan MLA Dr Rajeev Bindal, who visited the affected sites and released video evidence to the media, revealing the scale of the operations. “This is not just environmental destruction. It is the slow dismantling of a region’s future,” Dr Bindal remarked.

The implications are already visible. A recently constructed bridge over the Markanda river on the Moginand–Nagal Suketi road—built at a cost of several crores—is reportedly at risk. Mining beneath its piers has eroded the foundation by as much as 40 feet in some areas, rendering it vulnerable to collapse. Similarly, sewer lines, electricity poles, and protection walls have been damaged or dislodged. In many areas, sewer pipes that once ran safely along the riverbank are now exposed in the middle of the receded, scarred riverbed.

The river itself, once a perennial source of clean water, has been reduced to a polluted channel. With the water table dropping and natural filtration disrupted, several drinking water and irrigation schemes dependent on the Markanda river are now in jeopardy. Pump houses and critical installations lie on the brink of collapse.

Locals have warned that if mining is not immediately curbed, Kala Amb—one of Himachal Pradesh’s oldest industrial settlements—could face an irreversible socio-environmental disaster. “We are not against development or industry,” said one resident. “But what we are witnessing is plunder, not progress.”

The silence of regulatory bodies in the face of mounting evidence has sparked growing demand for a high-level inquiry and coordinated action across administrative, environmental and law enforcement agencies.