400 metric tonnes of stones quarried from the Aravallis

Despite the Supreme Court’s blanket ban on all kinds of mining activities, around 400 metric tonnes of stones--allegedly quarried from the protected Aravalli ranges-- were seized from Gairatpur Baas Pandala village in Badshahpur, Gurugram, said officials on Thursday.

Officials from the mining department said the stones were found lying on the foothills in the village and were freshly quarried. Officials received information about illegal quarrying, following which a raid was conducted in the village on June 15 and it was found that fresh quarrying activities were being carried out in the area.

Anil Kumar, mining officer (Gurugram), who was leading the raiding team, said the quarried stones were found lying inside a farm house near a social service organization and another farm house in the village. After quizzing the villagers, names of three suspects surfaced who were allegedly quarrying the stones and selling them to farmhouses and other construction sites.

The mining officer said it was clear after looking at the foothills in the village that heavy earth moving equipment were used for quarrying stones. “At the time of the raid, neither any machinery was found, nor were there any of the suspects in the area. We have seized the large quantities of stones quarried, which are now case property,” said Kumar.

In police parlance, any property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed or which appears to have been used for the commission of any offence is known as case property.

Based on the complaint registered by Kumar, an FIR was registered against the three suspects named by the villagers under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC and sections 21(1) (imprisonment upto five years and fine upto ₹5 lakh per hectare area for mining without license or lease) and 21(4) (seizure of tool, equipment, vehicle etc for raising, transporting mineral unlawfully) of Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, 1957 at Badshahpur police station on Wednesday night.

Kumar said one of the three suspects is the kingpin, who carries out such illegal activities frequently. “We had got another FIR for illegal mining registered against him (the kingpin) at Badshahpur on April 30 this year. That time, the suspects were trying to transport stones in two tractor trolleys...There is another case of illegal mining against him in Mewat,” he said.

Kumar said all kinds of mining activities are banned in Gurugram, Faridabad and Mewat after a blanket ban imposed by the Supreme Court in an order delivered in December 2002. “The ban has been imposed to preserve the entire Aravalli ranges, which runs from Delhi to Gurugram, Faridabad, Mewat in Haryana, then enters Rajasthan and goes up to Gujarat,” said the mining officer.

“Any quarrying or mining activity in the Aravallis has been banned by the Haryana government but is allowed in other states,” he said.

Inspector Sandeep Kumar, station house officer of Badshahpur police station, said investigation has been initiated in the case. “No matter how much effort is taken, illegal mining or quarrying activities take place rampantly in the Aravalli ranges. We are trying to trace and arrest the suspects,” he said.