Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday alleged large-scale illegal mining in Haryana’s Aravalli region, saying it has caused huge damage to the environment and huge loss to the government exchequer.
The Rajya Sabha member alleged that the ‘mining mafia’ was openly looting public resources and destroying the Aravalli hills, with no regard for the environment.
The Congress general secretary said the Enforcement Directorate has revealed that illegal mining in the Dadum hills of the Aravalli region has not only damaged the environment but also caused a loss of Rs 1,200 crore to the exchequer.
Surjewala said in a post on ‘X’ that in the past five people had lost their lives in a mining-related accident in the Tosham area, but no concrete action was taken even after the incident. He alleged that about 383 hectares of Aravalli hills in Charkhi Dadri district is being destroyed due to illegal mining and this (mining) is continuing under political patronage.
Surjewala said that the local people are living under the shadow of fear due to the mining work going on all night, noise of heavy machines and constant movement of vehicles. He alleged that there are cracks in the houses, people are feeling the tremors of the earthquake, but the complaints are being ignored.
The Congress leader strongly criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for failing to stop illegal mining and endangering both the environment and people’s lives.