Will set up board soon to protect the Aravalis, Haryana tells NGT

GURUGRAM: Haryana will constitute a statutory authority for the integrated environmental management of the Aravalis. The move to set up the Aravalis Rejuvenation Board follows an October 10 order of the National Green
Tribunal (NGT), which is hearing a petition by the Aravali Bachao Citizens Movement alleging gross environmental violations in the protected ranges.
On April 12, chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal submitted an affidavit in the NGT saying a proposal to set up the board had been sent to the department concerned for approval.”We plan to establish the Aravalis Rejuvenation Board as soon as possible. Crucial elements of the board will be revealed only after we get a go ahead from the government,” he told TOI.Once the board is approved, the government will issue a notification.”…it was decided to constitute a specific cell at the district level for the periodic monitoring of the Aravali
areas in Nuh, Faridabad and Gurgaon…. Necessary instructions for the creation of this special cell in compliance with the orders of this Hon’ble Tribunal are being issued by the state government shortly,” the affidavit submitted to the NGT read. In another affidavit, the Haryana Police said they had received 582 complaints related to illegal mining and transportation of stones and other minerals in the past six years
“ln thirty-one out of 582 complaints, after verification, no illegal mining was found, whereas, 44
complaints were sent back to the mining and geology department for filing complaints before competent
court of law under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. It is submitted that
when an incident of illegal mining comes to the notice of police offices/stations, officials of the mining
department are immediately informed telephonically. FIR is being registered by the police department,”
said the affidavit, signed by Sanjay Kumar, the director-general of police.
The NGT will hear the case again on April 28. According to the petition, there are 16 locations in the
Aravalis where mining is carried out unhindered. The hills, in some instances, had been completely razed
to the ground, it said. It was in 2009 that the Supreme Court banned all forms of mining in the Aravalis of south Haryana. But
the lack of a proper vigil has failed to put a stop to quarrying of stones for constructions.
The petitioner, meanwhile, said that for the board to be effective, at least 50% of its members should be
from civil society groups such as independent ecologists, wildlife experts, geologists, climate scientists
and lawyers. The proposal to use the Aravalis as a dumping ground for zoo safari projects could not be
approved by the board, it said.
“It’s crucial for the people of Haryana and NCR not to lose their pollution sink, their water recharge zone
and the only barrier against desertification. It is also important to increase surveillance against mining
activities. Hill after hill is being razed to the ground, creating gaps for the Thar desert to advance towards
Haryana and NCR. Our group has been repeatedly urging the Haryana government to use drones regularly
and increase the number of checkposts across the Aravallis to stop mining. Merely setting up a control
room for citizens to report illegal activities and constituting a special cell will not help,” said Neelam
Ahluwalia, co-founder of the Aravali Bachao Citizens Movement