In a bid to avert threats to law and order posed by the unauthorised mining mafia, the District Magistrate (DM) has banned all mining activities from 7 pm to 7 am in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh belt for two months.
Excavation, transportation of mined material and movement of vehicles have also been prohibited during these hours as a preventive measure, according to a notification issued on December 20.
The Baddi SP and the SDMs of Nalagarh and Baddi have been directed to ensure effective implementation of the order and take necessary steps to maintain peace and tranquility. Any violation will invite punitive action.
The move follows reports of persistent illegal mining and unauthorised transportation, particularly at night and especially near the inter-state border. Porous stretches along riverbeds, khads and rivulets have reportedly enabled easy cross-border movement.
Officials from the mining and police departments have frequently faced aggression from an emboldened mining mafia operating along the Himachal-Punjab-Haryana boundaries.
Despite an existing ban on excavation machines between sunset and sunrise, Baddi police have regularly confiscated earth-moving equipment used for illegal mining on government land in the Nalagarh region, which has emerged as a hub of environmentally destructive activity.
The DM’s order notes that perpetrators have not only resisted enforcement action but have also obstructed officials in the discharge of their duties, creating law-and-order problems and endangering public safety.
Although the Baddi SP has continued operations against illegal miners, SDMs report being flooded with night-time complaints.
Reduced visibility and limited manpower have constrained enforcement efforts, allowing anti-social elements to exploit the situation, heighten tensions and threaten law and order in this vulnerable border belt.
DM Manmohan Sharma said while the night-time ban remains in force for two months due to threats from “unruly elements,” legal mining activities may continue during daytime as permitted under existing regulations.
