A DOUBLE BLIND PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL OF APG AND ISPER INDIA INDEXED IN SCOPUS VOLUME 16 ISSN- 0973–3485 OCTOBER 2020 PUNJAB GEOGRAPHER : ISSN- 0973–3485 Volume 16 October 2020 EXTRACTION OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL IN ARAVALLI REGION OF HARYANA AND DELHI: ITS SPATIAL PATTERN, ECOLOGICAL HAZARDS AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS Doctoral Dissertation Abstract (2019) Author: Tejpal Supervisor: Dr. M.S. Jaglan Professor, Department of Geography Co-Supervisor: Dr. B.S. Chaudhary Professor, Department of Geophysics Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra The mining industry meant for Objectives of the Study extraction of construction material is Major objectives of the present study expanding very fast in India since inde- are: pendence. The growth of construction • to map the mines of construction activity, in Delhi and surrounding National material in Aravalli region of Haryana Capital Region in Haryana, has generated and Delhi; huge demand for concrete and sand. As a • to examine the ecological hazards result, Aravalli region in Haryana and Delhi induced due to mining of construction has experienced large-scale legal as well as material and illegal mining of construction material, • to assess the perception of local people without caring the provisions made through with regard to change in socio- several central legislations for conservation of economic conditions; impact on agri- environment and mineral resources. Illegal culture and on ecological conditions quarrying is a common practice, although and human health. Supreme Court has banned mining of construction material in the surrounding areas Database and Methodology of Delhi since May, 2009. Lack of sufficient The study is based on primary as well information regarding the negative effects of as secondary sources of data. In the present extraction activities has led to environmental study, remote sensing data have been used. degradation in these areas. Therefore, the The United States Geological Survey satellite present study is aimed at exploring the data of LANDSAT 5 TM and 7 ETM+ sensor distribution and concentration pattern of with a spatial resolution of 30 m have been extraction sites of construction material and used to locate and determine the area under their impacts on the ecology and environment extraction of construction material in the study of the surrounding areas. area. LANDSAT images covering the Aravalli EXTRACTION OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL IN ARAVALLI REGION OF HARYANA AND DELHI 151 region of Haryana and Delhi have been Index and Normalized Difference Water assembled and analyzed to determine environ- Index have been calculated. In order to have mental change over two decades in terms of more comprehensive idea about the land use/land cover, biomass and moisture degradation caused by the extraction of content. Moreover, about 12000 high resolu- construction material over the years, ratio of tion Digital Globe Image tiles, for the study composite values, for the year 1989 and 2009 area, from Google Earth have been used. has been generated. Based on possible Ancillary data, like Survey of India topo- negative impacts on various derived layers, a graphic maps, have been procured to prepare rating has been given to assess positive and the base and relief map of the study area. negative changes in the ecology of mines. For in depth study about the const- Groundwater level observations have been ruction material mines and their impacts on used to prepare water table depth maps in ecological conditions and the living environ- Arc/Info 9.3 using Geo-statistical Analyst ment of the people, four separate sites have extension. To depict the spatial pattern of been delineated for four types of extraction groundwater depth, isopleth technique has activities i.e. stone mining, slate mining, stone been used for mapping. crusher and sand extraction. The site of Sirohi and Khori-Jamalpur mines in Faridabad Major Findings district have been selected for the study of Delhi has been dependent on the stone mining; Kund in Rewari district has been Aravalli ridges, located in its vicinity, for selected for slate mining and Khanak in obtaining construction material since long. Bhiwani district has been selected for stone But large-scale destruction of fragile crushers. For the sand extraction, Dohan river ecosystems and physical environment of and its surrounding areas near Narnaul town in Aravallis began during early 20th Century. Mahendergarh district have been chosen. A During post-liberalization period, private circle of 10 km radius has been drawn around capital investment in the construction sector each site for analyzing the ecological/envir- further accelerated the demand of cons- onmental impacts in the surrounding area of truction material. It led to widespread mines. Furthermore, a buffer of one km has environmental devastation in terms of been delineated along the mining sites to puncturing the aquifers, deforestation and analyze the impact of mining in the close defacing the natural landscapes. Environ- proximity or vicinity of mines. Comparison mental devastation attracted the attention of between these two areas brings out the impact Supreme Court of India during 1990s. But of material extraction on ecological conditions. despite this, the illegal mining of construction The environmental health index, an material and violation of mining rules and indication about extent of extraction of regulations for ecological safeguards construction material and other develop- continued in the banned territory in Haryana. mental activities has been developed for The Apex Court in May 2009 suspended all different sites. For this purpose, different band the mining operations and put a blanket ban in ratios namely Normalized Difference Vege- the region. tation Index, Normalized Difference Moisture However, the extraction of cons- Index, Normalized Difference Bare Land truction material became quite widespread 152 PUNJAB GEOGRAPHER VOLUME 16 OCTOBER 2020 phenomenon in the Aravalli region during The perception of the people is also in post-liberalization period. Stone mines have conformity with the scientific findings of the spread in Faridabad, Gurugram, Nuh, Rewari, present study. It has been observed, by the Mahendergarh and Bhiwani districts. Since respondents, that mining of construction 1990s, the Aravalli region experienced material and crushing operations have mushroom growth of stone crushers in the significant negative impact on the human vicinity of most of the stone extraction sites. health in its surrounding areas. Some of them These have been located in clusters of also perceive mining of construction material hundreds of units in Faridabad, Gurugram, as a threat to their economy and livelihoods. Nuh and Bhiwani districts. Slate mining in Despite this realization, the people in the Haryana is found in Rewari and Mahen- mining area, at large, are in favour of conti- dergarh districts and it is mostly concentrated nuation of mining operations as they are more around Kund town. The channels of Dohan interested in the economic benefits being and Sahibi rivers in Mahendergarh and accrued from these mines. Rewari districts and of Yamuna river in At some places, the mines have been Faridabad and Palwal districts have numerous found to be very close to the settlements and sites for sand extraction. other infrastructures such as railway lines, Area under active slate mines state highways, major roads and canals. This increased by two and half times during the two causes danger to the infrastructure and is a decades. The area covered by stone crushers blatant violation of mining norms. Most of the clusters also increased by 3 times over the two stone and slate mines have been carried out at decades. Stone crushers emit tons of dust and the depth of over 50 m below the surface. caused air and soil pollution in an extensive Similarly, the sand is being extracted from the area. However, Government's revenue river bed beyond the depth of 3.0 m, the earnings from these mining activities have prescribed depth in the regulation. This results increased many folds over the decade. Mining in drastically reshaping of the sub-surface of construction material is responsible for drainage patterns. Hence, depths of quarrying, several negative socio-economic impacts and especially deep quarries up to the groundwater health and environmental hazards, parti- levels, need to be regulated immediately. cularly, when the quarrying activities are The workers are living in the close being carried out haphazardly and not as per proximity of the mines and stone crushers. the prescribed norms and regulations. They inhale the dust, day and night, which Degradation of land, soil, water and air causes serious health hazards. Hence, resi- is the major environmental problem asso- dences for workers should be constructed at ciated with mines in the study area. Mining of least 500 m away from their workplaces. construction material has made the land Mining of construction material is not only a susceptible to erosion and loss of vegetal hazard to the environment, but it is also being cover. The clearing of vegetation in mining seen as a toll on public health. Hence, govern- areas has posed serious threats to rivulets and ment should take initiative to promote other surface water bodies. Noise and air research and development for the cons- pollution have been observed as major health truction of infrastructure from the reusable problems around stone crusher sites. materials. .