Ministry of Environment now stands up for miners

This is in spite of their own annexure, a report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) that ‘‘Aravalli hills in the study area are the main recharge area for the aquifers in surrounding areas of Delhi and Faridabad. Any dewatering of mines in Aravalli hills will affect the groundwater regime…’’ It also says that the natural drainage pattern has been altered due to haphazard mining.

Incidentally, this is just a repeat of 1996 when the Court had asked NEERI to inspect the mines. The report had shown ‘‘ecological disaster’’ and ‘‘unscientific mining’’. The Court had passed an order based on NEERI’s recommendations to safeguard the environmental interests and had identified Director, Mines and Geology and Haryana Pollution Control Board to ensure environmental compliance.

In 2002, alarm bells rang when the water-table started dipping in Faridabad and Delhi because of indiscriminate mining. This time, instead of NEERI, the Central Empowered Committee and the Bhure Lal committee were asked to look into the issue. The findings were the same as seven years ago except for the scale and intensity — gross violation of all environmental safeguards and complete disregard for mining plans.

The MOEF has categorised all mines into five categories — A, B, C1, C2 and D. Except D, they have asked mines be allowed to re-opened in all other categories. Even those that ‘‘have Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) clearance but are not carrying out mining scientifically may be considered in the light of the report awaited from the IBM on the compliance status.’’

In May 2002, the Court had directed the government of Haryana that all mining activity and all pumping of groundwater be stopped in and from an area of 5 km from the Delhi-Haryana border in the Haryana side of the ridge and also in the Aravalli hills. The Court had asked the Union of India to respond whether the ban should continue.

The MOEF has submitted this affidavit on the basis of site inspections by a committee including representatives from MOEF, CGWB, Mines and Geology, Haryana, State Pollution Control Board and Director General, Mines Safety. One notable absentee was a representative of the Forest department in the committee.

They inspected 34 mines in the 5-kilometre belt of the Delhi-Haryana border. Of the 76 mines in the district of Gurgaon that were granted environmental clearance by the state government, 16 mines fall within the 5-kilometre border.

The big concern by CEC was that permission to mine had been given in areas where plantation had been done under foreign-funded greening projects. The MOEF affidavit says: ‘‘Reforestation of such diverted plantation is also not practically feasible as areas become refractory and hence difficult to establish green cover. The resources required to reforest such areas would be more because of degradation of the area.’’

The sum and substance is, except seven mines in Faridabad where mining has encountered ground-water table, ‘‘in case of all other mines in Gurgaon and Faridabad, wherein clearances have been issued by the IBM and the State government, where the ultimate working depth during mining is likely to encounter ground water table, such mining operation may be permitted subject to additional conditions imposed by CGWB.’’