Gurgaon: Mining may have been banned in Haryana Aravalis for more than two decades, but two excavators were found operating on a 25-acre stretch of forest land in Faridabad’s Badkhal, with extensive rock excavation and large quantities of broken stone visible across the site.During a visit to the site, TOI found the two earthmovers stationed on the rocky terrain, with vegetation cleared from substantial portions of the tract. The land is protected under sections 4 and 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) and falls within Aravali landscape. No permission was sought from the forest department for the work being carried out at the site, according to officials. The department learnt of the activity and sent a team to the site to halt the work, an official said.A local said excavation had been under way for two days. He said the workers carrying out excavation had shown govt permission for the activity, understood to be for “handling and disposal of up to 500 metric tonnes of stone generated during excavation.” The forest department refuted claims of any such permit.The scale of digging has raised questions over whether rock was extracted from the site and, if so, where it was taken to. The location is particularly significant: the excavation is along the bank of Badkhal Lake, which govt has been trying to revive since it dried up in 2002. The lake’s rejuvenation project envisages restoring water retention and recharging it with water from a 10 MLD sewage treatment plant. Govt records describe the project as involving lake-bed treatment, bund strengthening and lakefront development. The lake’s drying has previously been linked to factors including mining in the surrounding Aravalis and groundwater depletion.Mining in Haryana Aravalis has been prohibited by Supreme Court since 2002 through a series of orders aimed at protecting the ecologically fragile range. In 2009, the court imposed a blanket ban on mining across south Haryana after finding extensive damage to the hills. A 2018 report by Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) found that around 25% of the Aravali range in Rajasthan was lost to illegal mining between 1967 and 1968.Forest analyst Chetan Aggarwal said the activity raises concerns under both forest and mining law. “The area is protected under Forest Conservation Act. Removal of trees, digging of land and breaking of rocks violates forest and mining laws,” he said. He warned that unchecked activity by govt departments could embolden private encroachment: “If govt departments start doing this, then private players will get more emboldened,” he said.This is not the first such instance in the region. On Dec 23, 2024, TOI reported that around 6,000 metric tonnes of stones were illegally mined after a hillock in Nuh’s Rava was blasted apart on the night of Dec 19, days after mining department officials had inspected the area and flagged new excavation there. Another TOI report from Jan 2025 noted that the forest department had ordered action against three revenue officials for allowing illegal road construction in Basai Meo.
