Illegal Mining Now Eroding Protective Shield of Aravalli

The Aravalli range—spanning Rajasthan, Haryana, and parts of Delhi—is often referred to as northwest India's protective barrier against the encroaching Thar desert.

- Leena Dhankhar

GURUGRAM: These ancient hills play a crucial role in checking desertification, recharging groundwater, regulating local climates, absorbing pollution, and providing habitats for a rich variety of wildlife including leopards, hyenas, wolves, and numerous bird species. The forests and green cover of the Aravallis act as a lung for the region, supporting both human and ecological communities.

However, rampant illegal mining activities have begun to erode this natural shield.

The environmental devastation wrought by illegal mining in the Aravalli hills is both immediate and far-reaching, experts say—systematic demolitions for stone extraction has led to the rapid loss of vegetation and topsoil, transforming these once-thriving ecosystems into barren landscapes marked by craters and open pits.

As the protection offered by the Aravallis weakens, the encroachment of the Thar desert becomes an increasingly tangible threat.

Grave consequences of rampant mining Environmentalists warn that the destruction of the Aravallis has severe and far-reaching consequences. "Each time a hill is blasted, we lose not just a physical structure but also the ecosystem it supports," said Vaishali Rana, an environmentalist who has studied the region for over a decade. Her observations underline the critical point that these hills are not mere rock formations but living systems that maintain ecological balance.

The loss of vegetation and topsoil leads to a cascade of environmental issues. Without trees and plants to anchor the soil, the area becomes vulnerable to erosion. Rainwater, instead of being absorbed by the ground to recharge aquifers, runs off rapidly, leading to the formation of gullies and further loss of fertile soil. This not only diminishes the land's capacity for future growth but also undermines the natural water-retention capacity crucial for sustaining agriculture and providing drinking water.