Days after it submitted an affidavit opposing the Supreme Court ban, claiming there was nothing wrong with mining in the Aravalli hills, the Haryana government has turned around. And said it will implement the landmark Supreme Court order ‘‘to the last letter.’’The ban—first reported by The Indian Express—came after the court acted on the report of a team of experts it had appointed which said that mining was causing irreversible damage to one of the country’s oldest mountain ranges. Blasting the hills was also draining the precious water table.Rajasthan and Haryana were asked to implement the ban. And while Rajasthan did, the Haryana government filed an 18-page affidavit claiming that mining was good for the water table!But last night, after a series of meetings held by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, the Haryana government banned all mining activity in the Aravallis. Formal orders are yet to be issued but officials speaking to The Sunday Express confirmed that mines in land under the forest department, protected or otherwise, would be closed.With this, at least 60 per cent of all mines in Faridabad would be affected. The other districts in Haryana where there was thriving mining for Badaprur, stone, silica and slate are Gurgaon, Rewari, Narnaul and Mahendragarh. The ban is likely to affect 40,000 people in Haryana alone. The annual revenue that the government is likely to lose is to the tune of Rs 100 crore.Also at stake is the fortune of the powerful lobby of mineowners and politicians, including that of a minister in the Chautala government.‘‘We are implementing the Supreme Court order to the last letter and the Forest department is giving a list of mines which fall in the forest area,’’ said M Sonawane, Secretary (mines), Haryana government. The biggest hindrance in implementing the order was the exact definition of ‘‘forest.’’ It has now been interpreted to mean land that is protected under Section 38 of the Indian Forest Act 1927. This will also include land that falls under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act of 1900 — when a particular area is kept for forest activity for 20-25 years. This means any land which has been used for plantations in the past cannot be used for mining any more.As news spread about the orders, the lease owners held a meeting today informing their contractors and associated industries that the mines would soon be closed.Among the people to be affected the most by this ban are S P Sethi, who owns 72 mines in the area; K S Bhadana, Minister of cooperatives in the Chautala government; several mineowners, including BJP MP Ram Das, who have mines in the Kot, Alampur and Dhauj villages.The first order had come from the Supreme Court to close mines in the 5-km Delhi-Haryana boundary. A subsequent order dated October 30, 2002 said that since the damage to the Aravallis was indiscriminate mining be stopped in the entire Aravallis.
