Rs 5 cr to Rs 363 cr in 10 yrs: Haryana mining revenue sees uptick; activists call for checks

A DAY after the Supreme Court directed Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat not to accord permission for mining activities in Aravallis until further orders, environmentalists still concerned over the situation said that “legal mining needs to be regulated” across the country. The bench had said its order did not impinge on legal mining activities that are currently being carried out per valid permits and licences.

Kai lash Meena, an environmentalistfrom si karin raj as than, however, urged the Supreme Court to also look into ongoing mining activities on leases, as rules are not followed on the ground, and it is not restricted to lease boundaries only. “Legal mining should not be allowed close to forest and habitation areas as our wildlife and rural communities have been bearing the brunt of its impacts,” Meena added.

The SC had noted in submissionsof advocatek para mesh war, the amicus curiae in the matter, that“no fresh mining leases or renewalof the existing ones shall be permitted” in the Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan and Haryana until further orders. Meanwhile, the Haryana government's report submitted during the Central Empowered Committee meeting in March this year, showed the revenue in 2023-24 received from four districts — where mining is legal — was pegged at Rs 363.5 crore. This figure stood at Rs 5.15 crore in 2013-14, showed data.

There is a blanket ban on mining in the Aravalli hills of Faridabad, Gurgaon, and Nuh districts as per a 2009 order by the Supreme court. however, mining is permissible in four districts — Rewari, Mahendergarh, Charkhi Dadri and Bhiwani — in the state.

In 10 years, the state government has raked in a revenue of Rs 3,621 crore, with the biggest jump in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri where Haryana’s revenue went from Rs 1.13 in 2013-14 to Rs 351 crore in 2023-24. The two districts have 16 mines — the leases of some extending till 2038 — over an area of 627.9 hectare. There are eight mines in Mahendragarh and one in Rewari. Meanwhile, the government said only three violations were recorded in these districts.

Neelam Ahluwalia, an environmentalist, said that she went on ground truthing trips to all seven districts of Haryana, where Aravallis fall, and found that the mountain ranges are rapidly getting destroyed in the state — between legal and illegal mining. “...Haryana will soon become a desert... water-starved at the rate at which the Aravalli hills have been destroyed through legal and illegal mining,” Ahluwalia added.