Jaipur: Acknowledging that land allotted for an iron ore mining project in Deepawas village of Neem ka Thana in Sikar district falls within the Aravalli hills, Rajasthan govt has ordered an immediate halt to mining in the area.Mining operations allegedly began on Jan 16, 2026, with large-scale land clearing using heavy machinery. The project area covered 180 hectares across three villages, including 149 hectares classified as forest land.The issue reached the Supreme Court after two local residents—Mamraj and Kailash Chand, whose agricultural fields and homes fall within the proposed mining area—filed an intervention application in the ongoing suo motu case, ‘In re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues’. They argued mining could not proceed because the site falls within the Aravalli hills under the definition in the 2010 FSI report.A mining official said, “The State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority also issued a communication on January 25, 2026, stating that no mining activity can commence without prior permission from the Supreme Court.”Under the Supreme Court’s May 9, 2024 order, no final permission for mining can be granted in the Aravalli hills, as defined by the FSI report, without prior approval of the court. The direction was reiterated in a December 29, 2025 order.Founder, People for Aravallis collective, Neelam Ahluwalia, said, “The main issue taken up in the legal petition was that the mining operations cannot be allowed to continue, since the area falls within the Aravalli hills as per the FSI Report of 2010.”Following the intervention, the state mining department examined the lease area and, in a letter dated Jan 24, 2026, said the site fell within the Aravalli polygon and the Aravalli Hills Range as per the FSI report dated August 25, 2010. It then directed the immediate stoppage of mining operations.Villagers said the site is barely two kilometres from the boundary of the Baleshwar Conservation Reserve and warned mining could harm agriculture, grazing land, groundwater levels, and the Girjan river—described as a key source of drinking water and irrigation for over 60,000 people in more than 40 villages. Mamraj said, “The 19 km of Girjan river is our lifeline which has water in it all year round. We don’t see our land, rivers and the Aravalli hills as something that can be exploited for profit. Our natural resources are very sacred for us.”
