Jaipur: Three Rajasthan legislators questioned the public consultation process and field visits undertaken by the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee on the Aravallis, alleging mining-affected villages and rural and tribal communities were not adequately consulted before the panel finalises its report.The apex court constituted the five-member HPC on May 25, 2026, to conduct an independent review of the Centre’s report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range.In separate letters to the committee, Bharat Adivasi Party MP Rajkumar Roat, Rajasthan Assembly Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and Sikar MP Amra Ram raised concerns over the consultation process and urged the panel to visit more mining-affected areas and interact directly with local communities before submitting its report.Roat urged the committee to seek an extension of the Aug 31 deadline from the Supreme Court and undertake wider consultations across the Aravalli region. “Seeking representations through email and Google Forms was unsuitable for rural and tribal communities, many of whom are marginal farmers, cattle herders or forest-produce collectors without access to computers or smartphones,” he said.He also questioned the four-city public hearings in Gurgaon, Alwar, Ajmer and Udaipur, saying tribal participation was minimal or absent. “The committee visited the Zawar mines in Udaipur but did not visit the nearby affected villages. It should visit Kanpur village to assess the impact of chemical pollution from the Teli dam, which has turned into a toxic waste dump from the Zawar mines,” he said.Jully cited the Forest Survey of India’s Sept 2025 report that said the Aravallis were present in 36 of Rajasthan’s 41 districts, covering 88% of the state. “Why did the committee visit only a limited number of districts and not mining- and stone-crushing-affected villages?” he asked.Jully cited Pawana Aheer in Kotputli and Chapoli in Jhunjhunu, alleging that mining leases operate close to homes, schools and agricultural fields. He called for an independent assessment of the social, health and environmental impacts of these activities.Sikar MP Amra Ram said the committee should visit Jodhpura in Kotputli, where he alleged around 45 people had died from ailments linked to dust pollution over four years and children were suffering from respiratory problems and allergies.He said the committee visited Baleshwar Conservation Reserve but not the nearby Girjan river, which supplies drinking water and irrigation to more than 40 villages. He alleged that untreated mining wastewater was being discharged into the river, affecting agriculture, livestock, and local communities.Amra Ram further urged the committee to visit Salyodra village in Sikar, where he said more than 50 people had died of silicosis in recent years.They questioned why the committee had not sought the views of Asaram, a resident and mining-affected villager, whose account they said could provide a first-hand perspective on the impact of mining and pollution in the Aravalli region.
