The National Green Tribunal dealing with a petition related to illegal sand mining in Jodhpur, has directed the Secretary, Department of Revenue, Government of Rajasthan and the Collector, Jodhpur to place before it relevant documents that would help in determining whether the area upon which illegal mining is being conducted is a deemed forest or not. After repeated failure on the part of the authorities, the officers have been warned, if they fail to place relevant records before the court, the tribunal would presume that the area is a deemed forest area.
The applicant, Ram Ji Vyas is a local resident of the area, who has approached NGT over the illegal sand mining going on in Beri Ganga Forest Block of village Mandore in Jodhpur. While dealing with the said allegations, the issue for consideration was whether the concerned area, where the mining activities are taking place, is a deemed forest area or not. To resolve this issue, NGT had passed several orders to ensure that the demarcation of the area is done by the authorities, however, the land is yet to be demarcated.
The applicant informed the tribunal that, continuous illegal mining was taking place in the area and the state, which is vested with the responsibility to prevent it, has not been taking any action to stop it. Therefore, NGT passed an order stating that, no illegal mining shall take place in the forest area or the Balsamand Lake. On the recommendations made by the Divisional Commissioner, the Mining Engineer and Deputy Conservator of Forest of Jodhpur were asked to appear before the court in person, their submissions revealed that the forest area was not demarcated properly, according to the officers, there are some natural landmarks used to demarcate the forest land. They admitted that encroachments were present in the area; however, they have not been demolished because they are concerned about the law and order situation. Consequently, Senior Officers of the Departments of Divisional Forest Officer and Additional Director Mines of Jodhpur, were asked to appear before the court, their submissions clarified that the boundary of the forest land was not demarcated with any wire fencing/wall etc. Thus, NGT directed the forest department to demarcate the forest area by erection of pillars.
Despite orders being paused by the NGT, neither the Forest Department nor the Revenue Department has demarcated the land. The District collector, Jodhpur was directed to procure a copy of the trace map, so that the forest land may be demarcated and necessary action may be taken by the concerned officers to demarcate the land and put an end to the non-forest activity happening in the area. Till date, the demarcation of the forest land has not been done by the authorities. The authorities have not placed anything on record that would show that the
non-forest activities have actually been stopped. The tribunal has thus, warned the concerned authorities, that if they fail to place relevant records before them, the tribunal would presume that the area in question is a deemed forest area.
Since, demarcation of the area has not been done, illegal mining and encroachments is continuously taking place. Exploitation of forest land for the purpose of commercial exploitation is a common occurrence, as reported by India Legal, state of Haryana has been under pressure from the land mafia to take certain areas, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), out of the purview of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) so that they can be developed commercially. The law bars non-forest activity in areas notified under it and covers nearly 20,200 hectares in south Haryana, of which around 7,000 hectares are in Gurgaon and a little over 4,000 hectares in Faridabad. The Act also covers some portions of the Shivalik ranges in northern Haryana. Environmentalists have been crying hoarse as any relaxation would be disastrous for the ecology of the region, and could further dilute the sparse forest cover in the state. Environmentalists say that a powerful lobby of land sharks, who purchased land in these areas, has been putting pressure on the government to release the land from the purview of the Act. For them, the area is a goldmine from the point of mining the hills and developing it for commercial purposes. Yet, over the years, large scale construction had been allowed in parts of the region earmarked under the PLPA. A huge colony was constructed in Anangpur village where land was privatised in the 1970s. After hundreds of houses have been constructed, officials have realised that the area comes under the restricted zone. They have halted construction there, leaving thousands who were yet to make houses on their allotted lands in the lurch. It is virtually impossible now to demolish so many houses built there. It is obvious that a blanket lifting of restrictions imposed by the Act could lead to chaos and huge damage to the environment.
—India Legal Bureau