Illegal mining razes Aravalli hill despite FIR

Illegal stone quarrying persists in Haryana's Aravalli belt despite crackdowns, threatening ecology as miners from Rajasthan encroach on protected areas.

Despite repeated crackdowns and court orders, illegal stone quarrying continues to plague Haryana’s Aravalli belt, with the Haryana State Enforcement Bureau (HSEnB) filing yet another FIR in Nuh’s Patharali village on June 30. The case exposes how miners from neighbouring Rajasthan allegedly encroach into Haryana’s territory to extract stones, threatening ecological stability in the region.

Activists allege that groups from Rajasthan are crossing into Haryana’s side of Aravallis to mine stones. (HT Photo)

According to the FIR, the latest encroachment was uncovered during a joint inspection on June 29. Officials from multiple departments, including assistant mining engineer Sohit Kumar, forest range officer Rakesh Kumar from Ferozepur Jhirka, assistant sub-inspector Rakesh Kumar of the State Enforcement Bureau (SEB), revenue officials, and panchayat representatives such as Sakeel Khan—brother of the village sarpanch—participated in the survey.

During the inspection, the team discovered that mining leaseholders from Rajasthan had extended operations into the protected hilly terrain of Patharali village, which lies under Ferozepur Jhirka tehsil. The village shares a porous border with Udaylakabas village in Rajasthan’s Pahadi tehsil, Deeg district—providing easy access for cross-border incursions.

Preliminary findings linked the illegal activity to mining lease number 698/2003, held by Pawan Kumar Jain, a resident of Ferozepur Jhirka. Officials noted that the leaseholder had neither erected proper boundary markers nor maintained the mandatory buffer zone, violating key mining and environmental safety regulations. GPS-tagged photographs of the encroached area were taken as evidence.

Police have registered cases against past violations and keeping close watch on the activities, officers aware of the development said, adding that further investigation is ongoing.

The FIR was registered under Sections 21(1) and 303(2) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, at the HSEnB police station in Nuh, officials said, adding that the case has been assigned to ASI Rakesh Kumar for investigation.

Confirming the development, Nuh deputy commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena said, “Strict action will be taken against those found violating mining laws and encroaching into Haryana’s jurisdiction. We have deployed teams and intensified round-the-clock patrolling to prevent such incidents.”

However, illegal quarrying appears to persist with impunity on the ground. In the Rava region of Patharali, near the Rajasthan-Haryana border—where blasts by illegal miners reportedly brought down an entire hillock last December—fresh explosions were reported last week, reducing more sections of the Aravallis to rubble. The debris spilt into adjacent farmlands on the Haryana side, damaging crops and further escalating local concerns about the region’s fragile ecology.

By the time sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Lakshminarayan reached the site with police and forest officials, the miners had already fled. Locals reported sightings of trucks and heavy machinery retreating into Rajasthan, echoing long-standing allegations of the mining mafia’s cross-border operations and the inability of authorities to contain them.

Despite multiple FIRs, judicial interventions, and joint inspections, illegal mining continues unabated in this interstate belt, with activists blaming regulatory inertia and weak enforcement for the situation’s deterioration.

“This isn’t just a jurisdictional lapse—it’s systematic ecological vandalism happening in plain sight,” said Gurugram-based environmental activist Vaishali Rana. “Despite court orders, FIRs, and photo evidence, the Aravallis are being blasted apart week after week, while agencies look the other way. This region is a critical barrier against desertification and groundwater loss. Its destruction will have irreversible consequences for the entire NCR.”