Supreme Court pulls up Haryana govt for inaction against mining mafia, errant officials

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Haryana government for not taking action against mining mafia and its errant officials accused of violating forest laws and facilitating illegal transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih was very critical of the “evasive” affidavit filed by the chief secretary of Haryana in the matter.

The bench was considering a plea related to construction of an unauthorised 1.5-km road through protected Aravalli forest land by mining mafia "in collusion with the state government officials" for facilitating illegal transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan.

A report to this effect was filed by the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee.

“From the perusal of the affidavit (of the chief secretary) it is not reflected as to what actions have been taken against the erring officials and the mining mafia who are dishonestly dismantling the hills,” the CJI said.

The bench said that the chief secretary was “passing the buck” to the forest department officials by not making clear the actions taken against the officials and the accused.

The CJI said the chief secretary is responsible for the functioning of the government and he cannot pick and choose his actions.

“It appears that mafia is strong enough to protect not only its members but also the officers of the state government who acted in collusion with them,” the CJI said.

“We have no hesitation in observing that the chief secretary and the deputy collector of Nuh have acted with laxity in matters pertaining to ecology and environment,” the bench said.

It said some actions have been apparently taken after the bench passed orders while taking note of the CEC report on the issue.

“We direct the chief secretary to take action against all erring officials and file a detailed affidavit by July 16,” the bench said, adding that any further laxity on the part of the government would invite punitive orders from it as permissible under the law.

Now the matter will be taken up on July 16.

The CEC report, submitted to the apex court on April 15, flagged serious breaches of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, citing environmental degradation, destruction of wildlife habitat, and administrative inaction.

The road, according to the report, was built using heavy machinery without legal clearances, slicing through notified forest and agricultural land.

The construction, which began in October 2024 and ended in April 2025, disrupted decades-old Aravalli plantations and wildlife corridors, particularly those vital for leopard movement, the report mentioned.

The committee further noted a “non-cooperative attitude” from senior revenue officials, some of whom allegedly skipped multiple meetings on the issue.

It also hinted at possible collusion with local "political actors" and mining mafias, the report said.

The case stems from a petition filed by residents of Basai Meo village in November last year, alleging that a road illegally constructed through forest and agricultural land was facilitating the transportation of stones mined from the Aravallis in Nuh to Rajasthan via the border village of Biwan.