Yamuna activists irked due to alleged exploitation of natural resources from monsoon deficit river

YAMUNANAGAR: Yamuna activists on Friday alleged exploitation of natural resources from monsoon deficit river and that Haryana government is committing sponsored destruction of the only running river of the state.
On Friday, a complaint in this regard has been filed through email by Bhim Singh Rawat and eight other members of Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandli (YNMM) organization, to all the concerned officials of the Union and state government, secretary ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEFCC), member secretaries of CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and HSPCB (Haryana State Pollution Control Board), ACS (additional chief secretary) mines and geology department, Haryana; deputy commissioner (DC) Yamunanagar, engineer-in-chief (EIC) of irrigation and water resources department, Haryana, and several others.
One of the complainants Bhim Singh told, “We have lodged an online complaint with a request to prohibit large scale, illegal, mechanized, unsustainable riverbed mining operations in Yamuna river in Kanalsi village area of Yamunanagar district of Haryana and demanded stern action against mining companies involved in brazen violation of all established norms.”
In the complaint, members of YNMM stated, “Every single norm of sustainable mining set up by the MOEFCC has been willfully violated by the miners in Yamunanagar district. The riverbed has been severely dug up beyond recognition and mid-stream mining with heavy machines is rampant and the mining operations are being carried out even during night hours. There is a deficit monsoon year for the Yamuna river basin, there has been hardly any flood spell replenishing the already dug river in past two years. Despite the fact, the state government of Haryana, the district administration of Yamunanagar has allowed mining operations at an unprecedented scale.”
“There has been no thought of the adverse impact on groundwater table, river biodiversity, aquatic life, lean season flows, farmlands, and dependent village population. The villagers are being threatened to stay quiet and farmers have also filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT)”, further alleges the complainants.
“It is the hypocrisy of the state government that on one hand it is investing money for the revival of a gone river Saraswati and on the other hand destroying a living river Yamuna in the state. Though, we are hopeless, yet we plead, urge you to stop all mining activities in Yamuna river especially in Yamunanagar unless a scientific replenishment and cumulative impact assessment is done by independent agencies. If the unsustainable and illegal mining operations are not stopped, the Haryana and Delhi states would be facing severe water crisis in the coming months”, added the YNMM.
As per the information, some videos of Friday early morning came to the light from Kanalsi village mining zone, in which about six pock-lane machines can be seen conducting mining activities inside the Yamuna river basin, in violation of the laid norms.
The whistleblowers have also raised questions over the overloading mining vehicles damaging roads in Yamunanagar district and a demand for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter of mining and overloading in the district has been raised by Haryana Anti Corruption Society.
Yamunanagar deputy commissioner (DC) Mukul Kumar said, “An activist BS Rawat called me and raised the issue of mining in Kanalsi area. I confirmed from the district mining officer (MO) who told me that it is their legal point and the site has been allotted to the miners by the government. I have asked the mining officer to talk to the complainant and look into the matter. The government is looking to lease more area of Kanalsi ghat in the Yamuna for mining.”
Yamunanagar mining officer Neeraj said, "Our department and the IRWD are looking into this matter and we have talked to some locals who alleged that the mining contractor has done mining beyond the permissible limits. If norms are violated, action will be initiated immediately as per rules of the state mining department as the contractor is given lease by the government."