New Haryana rules on stone crusher units may blunt the war on air pollution

Easing of proximity norms will not only impact air and water quality but could also turn vast tracts of farm land barred, say experts

Haryana's new draft rules for polluting stone crusher units on its soil are likely to see more than 200 of them restarting operations after having been shut down under a previous law.

The norms relate to the proximity of stone crushers to forests, national highways, educational institutions, district roads, water bodies and villages. Under the new draft, the state government has reduced the minimum distance a stone crusher must maintain from a national or state highway to 0.5 km from 1 km earlier. The distance from a municipal corporation has been shortened to 2 km from 3 km.

The draft