Joint committee report on Aravali stone and sand mining in Haryana, 28/11/2022
Joint committee report dated November 28, 2022 regarding illegal sand and stone mining taking place in various locations of Aravali range in the districts of Faridabad, Gurugram and Nuh, Haryana. In Aravali where mining has taken place by vertically shaving the hill slopes it is not feasible to restore the landscape to its original form, a joint committee report said.
The committee after having considered aspects of closure of the mining pits and reclamation/rehabilitation of the land involved made the following suggestion. In locations where mining has taken place and in mined areas where the slopes remain gentle to moderate, the areas can be reclaimed by terracing and re-afforestation.
"However the concern will remain on aspects that the Aravali's have poor soil depth and the mined areas will be nutrient deficient in form of gravels and rocks on the surface," the joint committee report, November 28, 2022 said.
Thus, re-afforestation of such areas through plantation would be very difficult and highly cost intensive because mining activity removes the fertile top soil and after mining such areas are devoid of nutrients. The report recommended that such areas be reclaimed/reforested by means of natural regeneration wherein intervention is limited to protection of the area.
The protection could be achieved by closure of the area by fencing and continuous trenching. The other intervention that could be made is seeding of native species through seed balls in such closed lands.