Over 10,000 Dependent on Illegal Mining for Livelihood Alwar: Nearly 10,000 peoplein 50 villages of Alwar’s Tijara area alone are dependent on illegal mining for earning their bread and butter. This simple statistics of a small area in Alwar speaks volumes aboutthe gravity ofillegal mining in Rajasthan even asthe administration, police and mining department launched a statewide campaign against illegal mining on Monday. “Authorities are bound to face stiff challenges to contain the practice as mining mafia has the support of residents of hundreds of villages situated in the lap of Mewat region’s Aravalli hills. People from almost every other household in these villages are dependent on the illegal mining for a living. The entire local economy in these villages of Bharatpur, Alwar, Dholpur and Karauli districts is based on illegal mining. This has rendered such campaigns ineffective in the past,” sources said. Assistant conservator of forests Hemchand Jattold TOI that illegal mining is flourishing in Alwar and other areas because of the support of locals. “Earthmovers and dumpers parked in front of houses is a normal sight,” said the officer. The officer said that an economy has mushroomed in the area around illegal mining. “Not only JCBs and dumpers, there are several shops involved in repairing of vehicles used in mining,” said the officer. However, the support of residents for mining mafia has result edin a devastating effect on the local environment. “Hills have actually disappeared from several places leaving large patches of barren lands. It is quite shocking to see how organized and continuous mining can lead to disappearance of hills. In Tijara area alone, mining has led to disappearance of forest and hills from 1,000 hectares of land,” said the officer. The minors have even developed a network of informers. ,” said the officer.