75 cases of illegal mining in Faridabad, Palwal this year

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad/Palwal, July 20

Illegal mining has been going on unchecked in the region. This includes mining of stones in the Aravalli belt and sand mining from the Yamuna riverbed, besides soil mining for construction work.

The police have registered 38 cases in Faridabad and 37 in Palwal districts this year so far.

“Though mining in the Aravallis within 5 km from the Delhi border stands banned since 2002, the illegal activity has never come to an end,” sources in the district administration said. Due to this reason, several deep craters could be seen in the Aravalli region, they added.

Stone dust and gravel etc. are reportedly supplied from this area to the NCR. A number of stone crushers in the region obtain raw material from those indulging in illegal mining here, according to sources in the district administration. Such an activity cannot run without political patronage, they say.

The mining mafia illegally extracts around 150-200 truckloads of river sand daily from the 60-km-long stretch of the Yamuna that passes through Faridabad and Palwal.

The villages where illegal sand mining has been going on include Manjhawali, Lalpur, Mahawatpur, Dadasiya, Chhainsa, Rahimpur, Gurwari, Chandhut, Thantri, Prahladpur Maholi, Sattugarhi, Baghpur, Rajupur, Doshpur and Murtajabad.

A police constable was killed by the mafia in June 2012. Though soil extraction for brick making and stone mining up to a depth of 1.5 m requires prior permission from the Geology and Mining Department, there has been no check on illegal mining in the area, claims Vishnu Goel, a social activist.

State Mining Minister Mool Chand Sharma, who visited some villages in Palwal recently, had announced that the police had been directed to take tough action against those indulging in illegal mining. Several cases in connection with assault on police personnel and illegal mining had been registered since January, said a police official.

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