NGT directs Rajasthan government to rehabilitate villagers affected by mining

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Rajasthan government to constitute a committee of competent officials to undertake the study and measures to rehabilitate the victims of pollution away from the proximity of limestone mining with crushers near Jodhpura village in Rajasthan. 

At Jodhpura village in Rajasthan’s Kotputli-Behror district, a group of villagers have been protesting for over 1,000 days under the “Jodhpura-Mohanpura Sangarsh Samiti” against a cement plant in the village. The plant has a mine and two crushers associated with it.

The petitioners in the case, a group of villagers, had directed the Rajasthan government to rehabilitate the victims of pollution away from the proximity of limestone mining with crushers, among others. 

“There are inevitable impacts on human habitation because of setting up of stone crushers within the restricted area and the Government primary school has already suffered damage in the form of cracks because of blasting activities undertaken and there is eminent danger to the students in the school,” the NGT judgment in the case dated November 3 read. 

The judgment was given by the Central Zone Bench of the NGT in Bhopal comprising of judicial member Sheo Kumar Singh and expert member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi.  

“The Chief Secretary, State of Rajasthan, is also directed to constitute a committee of competent officials to undertake the study and measures to rehabilitate the victims of pollution away from the proximity of limestone mining with crushers,” it said. 

The judgment said that there is a large-scale impact on the households of the area and in most of the houses and even the houses which are recently constructed have developed cracks. “They were also suffering from noise and air pollution which has already caused large scale health impact and mental disturbances,” the judgment said. 

The NGT has directed to give ₹50,000 each to villagers whose houses have been damaged as per an official list and ₹20,000 each to villagers as per another list for environmental damage and health impacts.  

“The Respondent/Project Proponent (cement company) is further directed to undertake the water recharge and water conservation works in and around the mining site immediately and must ensure sufficient enough to recoupe the loss of ground water taken place after project has started to ensure the availability of water for future generation. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) shall provide technical guidance in this regard as well as monitor the ground water table recharge in the area and in no case water abstraction from the ground should exceed the water recharge in the soil,” the judgment read. 

Neelam Ahluwalia, Founder, ‘People for Aravallis’, People for Aravallis, a group of citizens and activists fighting for protection of the Aravalli mountain range, said that countless rural communities living in the lap of the India’s oldest mountain range in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana states are suffering like the people of Jodhpura village. “Illegal mining is destroying the hills, rivers, forests and groundwater of this region. Also, licensed mining operators are blatantly flouting rules. This needs to stop across the Aravalli range to protect what is left of North West India’s barrier against desertification, critical water recharge zone, pollution sink, climate regulator and wildlife habitat,” she said. 

In September, The Hindu had reported that with stone quarrying bringing rock crushers close to villages in south Haryana and north-west Rajasthan, including Jodhpura village, over the past couple of decades, people have been complaining of health problems and falling groundwater levels.