Ggm residents protest against govt's proposal to restart mining in Aravallis

gurugram: With the Haryana government mulling over the proposal of making mining legal once again in the forests of Aravallis, residents have united against this move. Even though mining was banned in the Aravallis since 1992, illegal mining activities continue to rear their ugly heads in the region even now.

In order to put pressure on the State government, a group of residents from Gurugram recently held a protest at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi. Expressing their anger, the agitators highlighted that despite several pleas no proactive action has been taken by the government to prevent slow destruction of the Aravallis.

"Already facing the problem of depleting groundwater reserves, lack of forests will further allow little rainwater to penetrate into the soil and recharge groundwater," said Ritu Rao, one of the agitators.

Not only mining but residents have again raised issue of amendments to Punjab Land and Preservation Act (PLPA) that was undertaken by the government in 2019. Citing that in Gurugram and Faridabad there was land required for development, a Bill was passed in the Haryana Assembly to remove a sizable portion of Aravallis protected under Punjab Land and Preservation Act (PLPA). The government however was not able to implement the Act as the Supreme Court stayed the order.

Since 2019, the residents however have continued to raise their concerns over amendments done under PLPA. Aravallis constitute 89,526 hectares of forest area in Haryana most of which is concentrated in Gurugram and Faridabad. With 33 per cent of Aravallis protected under PLPA, the residents have often expressed how it would allow a strong land mafia to completely destroy forest areas.