illegal mining

Rat hole mining was banned by the National Green Tribunal in 2014, yet the illicit practice remains in existence to this day.

While Ashok Gehlot accuses the BJP-led governments in the Centre and Rajasthan of conspiring to hand over the Aravalli Hills to mining mafias, citing the Centre’s ‘0.019% mining area’ argument, in 2002, the Gehlot government itself wanted to open the Aravallis for mining.

The controversy around the Supreme Court ruling adopting the revised definition of the Aravalli Hills has been amplified by a section of social media influencers and opposition-aligned propagandists under the #SaveAravalli trend.

An investigation by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has found serious flaws and deliberate irregularities in the planning and construction of the USTM campus, including blatant and large-scale land encroachment combined with environmental devastation that caused the flash floods in Guwahati's low-lying areas in August 2024.

"The SDM was attacked when he went to inspect a mining site. We are investigating the matter and we will take his and his driver's statement too, before we file an FIR. The attacker had been detained," ASP Chandra said.

The matter transpired in August of this year when a dispute arose between the official and a Congress MLA.

All these properties are registered in the name of Abdul Waheed Educational and Charitable Trust. The trust is controlled, managed and run by Md. Iqbal, former MLC and his family members.