Mining in the backyard: Aravalli villages bear the brunt of blasting and dust

Mining operations near homes, schools and farms in Rajasthan’s Aravalli villages are causing cracks in buildings, dust pollution, crop losses and displacement, residents allege. Activists have criticised a Supreme Court-appointed panel for not visiting several affected areas and seek more time for its report

Kotputli-Behror/Sikar: Stacks of raw crushed rock surround the house of Rajendri Devi, in her 60s, in Mehrampur village of Kotputli-Behror district. The rocks come from open mining taking place just a stone’s throw away.

The sound of drilling goes on incessantly near her house, which is marked with cracks from mining explosions. Hers is one of several mining-affected villages across Kotputli-Behror and Sikar districts nestled along the Aravalli range that a Supreme Court-appointed panel did not visit as part of a recently concluded survey of the ecologically fragile hills.

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The panel, which is to submit its report by August 31, has been tasked with conducting an independent review of the Centre’s report on the range’s definition and its delineation.

“They were supposed to come on August 8. We waited all day for them to come and see our situation. But no one did,” says Rajendri. Stretched from Delhi to Gujarat for more than 650 kilometres, the Aravallis are India’s oldest mountain range. It acts as a natural barrier against northern desertification and protects biodiversity and water recharge.

The hills are rich in sedimentary rocks, including sandstone, limestone, and marble, which has led to decades-long legal and illegal mining in the area. In numerous cases, mining takes place close to residential areas, causing livelihood loss, structural damage, and incessant noise.

For mining victims, the panel’s report could be transformative, as it would establish strict ecological boundaries. However, with the committee members’ no-show, the turnaround seems unlikely.

Mining in the backyard

In Rajasthan, mining is permitted if a mining lease area is at least 50 metres away from “public works such as public roads and buildings or inhabited sites,” according to the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1986 (amended up to May 16, 2016).

“In the case of village roads no workings shall be carried on within a distance of 10 metres of the outer edge of the cutting except with the previous written permission of the Collector or any other officer duly authorised by the State Government,” it says.

The rule has led to mining sites emerging close to houses, schools, and other places of habitation in both Kotputli-Behror and Sikar. For instance, four licensed mines are operating near Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya a residential secondary school for girls from weaker sections in Kotputli-Behror’s Pawana Aheer village.

Gyarsilal Arya, 63, claims that frequent blasting at the mine damaged the building, and it had to be renovated. “Every time an explosion occurs, the school and our houses shake intensely, often resulting in cracks in the walls,” Arya says.

Several houses in the village bear scars of blasting on their walls and roofs. A handful have been able to afford repair; a few propped up falling roofs with wood logs.

In Sikar’s Doonga Ki Nangal village, a mine operating close to houses has driven out all but two families both from a Scheduled Caste community from the village.

On May 20, the families, including women, were allegedly attacked by the mine workers. In Kotputli-Behror’s Jodhpura-Mohanpura village, a licensed mine of UltraTech Cement Limited and two stone crushers have been at work not far from a residential block. Many houses here bear cracks caused by blasts.

Last November, the Central Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Rajasthan government to constitute a committee to rehabilitate the entire village due to the severe impact of mining operations.

The order also banned blasts within 500 metres of Jodhpura-Mohanpura, and directed UltraTech Cement Limited to pay Rs 50,000 for structural damage.

No rehabilitation has taken place, and explosions continue, residents claim. A response from UltraTech Cement Limited and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the claim is awaited.

Kailash Yadav, secretary of Jodhpura Sangharsh Samiti, an applicant in the NGT case, says, “We wanted the SC-appointed Aravalli committee to visit the village and witness the flouting of rules. But they did not come.” The outfit’s members have been protesting against the mining in their village for close to four years.

Livelihood under dust cloud

Pawana Aheer village is barely a few kilometres from Jodhpura-Mohanpura. The only narrow road to the village is rutted due to heavy dumper trucks carrying rocks either from a mining site or to one of the several stone crushers in the region.

As these trucks travel, they kick up a haze of white dust, covering nearby lush green agricultural fields and other flora like a blanket. Pawana Aheer’s residents claim that the dust has reduced agricultural productivity.

Rohtash Yadav, a farmer in his 50s, says, “Mines are operating just a few metres away from our farms. The dust from there lands on our crops, such as bajra (pearl millet) and carrots. It does not let them grow properly.” In a letter to the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, dated February 2, 2026, the joint director of agriculture (extension) at Kotputli-Behror said an inspection in areas, including Pawana Aheer, found that “due to the accumulation of dust on the crops, plant growth and productivity are adversely affected and is likely to result in reduced crop yields.”

Mining has also impacted cattle rearing. Residents claim that in several cases, mining and stone crushing take place on grazing land. There have been many incidents where grazing cattle have accidentally fallen into mines several metres deep.

Yadav says, “This government talks so much about cow protection. But they do not want to save cows here.” Demands from Aravalli panel. With the SC-appointed Aravalli committee not visiting these areas, activists and residents are now demanding that the August 31 deadline for the submission of the panel’s report should be extended.

They argue that the scientific study, the public consultation procedure, and field surveys undertaken by the panel have so far been inadequate, and the committee must get more time to carry out these processes properly.

The panel conducted its field visits between August 6 and 10, visiting nine districts in Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan, according to the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, a group of environmentalists, social activists, and others. Public hearings were held in Gurgaon, Alwar, Ajmer, and Udaipur.

Neelam Ahluwalia, co-founder of Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, who attended all four public hearings, said the meetings were tilted against the villagers.

“Mostly the stakeholders that the committee heard in the short field trip and stakeholder engagement in Rajasthan were government department officials, mining and stone crushing industry people who spoke about how the mining and stone crushing operations are being carried out in the Rajasthan Aravallis in a sustainable and responsible manner,” she said. The activist said that the committee should ask the SC for an extension to do more extensive consultations with lawyers and affected parties.

“We hope that the committee examine compliance by existing licensed mining and stone crushing operators with the existing laws, and leases of those found flouting norms will be cancelled,” Ahluwalia said. Back in Pawana Aheer village, Arya says regardless of what happens, he will continue to oppose mining activities. “They have eaten away the Aravalli hills, our home. I will go nowhere until everything stops.”