The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognizance of a news report concerning the auction of a portion of Aravalli forest land in Rajawas, Haryana, for mining purposes, shortly after it was declared a ‘protected forest.’
A bench consisting of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert members Dr. A Senthil Vel and Dr. Afroz Ahmad, noted potential violations of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) and the Environment Protection Act.
According to a report by The Times of India on September 15, the Haryana Forest Department had designated 506 acres of land in Rajawas village, Mahendergarh district, as a ‘protected forest’ under the FCA, 1980, on July 20, 2023. This declaration was part of a compensatory afforestation initiative intended to mitigate environmental damage caused by the Great Nicobar project, which had resulted in the loss of a million trees.
However, on the same day as the forest designation, the Haryana government’s mining department conducted an e-auction for 119.5 acres of this newly protected land. A company won the bid and was granted a 10-year lease on August 4, 2023, for quarrying activities and the operation of three stone crushers with an estimated capacity of up to 1.4 metric tonnes per annum.
The report further revealed that the auction and subsequent mining activities were carried out without obtaining a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Forest Department. While the mining department claimed ignorance of the FCA notification during the auction, forest officials maintained that mining could not legally proceed without the required approvals.
The NGT concluded that this raised substantial concerns regarding the compliance with the provisions of both the Forest Conservation Act and the Environment Protection Act. In response, the Tribunal issued notices to key authorities, including the Inspector General of Forest, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana; the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB); the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); and the District Magistrate of Mahendergarh.
All respondents have been directed to submit their replies in the form of affidavits at least one week before the next hearing, scheduled for January 28, 2025.
