For several years, 16 stone crushers in the district here have been functioning without obtaining a licence from the Department of Mines and Geology, or without getting a No- Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Haryana Pollution Control Board. It is alleged that because of the proximity of owners of these crushers to the powers that be in the previous Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government, no efforts were made to close down these stone crushers.

These crushers are located outside the crusher zone carved by the state government, and eight of them are located right along the Panchkula- Kalka National Highway. No stone crushers are allowed to operate along National Highways, link roads or any residential colonies- be it in cities or the villages. The Supreme Court had ruled in 1992 since these crushers caused grave air pollution and were a traffic hazard, besides endangering human health, these be relocated to separate crusher zones.

As a result, a stone crusher zone was set up by the Haryana Government in Burj Kotian village, spread over an area of 105 acres in 1992. It was earlier proposed that 25 stone crushers be set up in this zone, which was later extended for 36 stone crushers. As of now, 29 crushers are functional in the crusher zone at Burj Kotian.

However, throwing all government norms to the winds, seven stone crushers are functional in the Chandimandir area (Tanda), five in Rampur Seori, three in Surajpur and one in Kiratpur (on the Pinjore- Nalagarh road). Not only are these crushers functioning without obtaining a licence or an NOC from the Haryana Pollution Control Board, but these crushers are also located in the periphery region of Chandigarh and thus violating the Punjab New Capital Periphery (Development and Regulation) Act, which specifies that no construction is allowed within 50 km radius of Chandigarh.

Official sources allege that no notice was issued to these crushers in the past four years, even though they are functioning illegally. But as soon as the INLD-led government fell, paving the way for the new political regime, the Department of Mines and Geology has issued notices to the stone crusher owners, asking them to apply for licences.

A visit to these stone crushers also reveals that they have not installed the proper pollution control devices. Water sprinklers are not installed at some of these stone crushers, leading to unhealthy increase in the level of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) here. None of the stone crusher owners had planted trees around their respective premises, against the norms issued by the board. The crusher owners maintain that they have regularly been planting saplings but these are eaten by stray animals. Similarly, none of the crushers have installed a wind-breaking wall — be it GI sheets or concrete structures.