The Aravalli Range stretches across nearly 20 districts of Rajasthan. Kotputli-Behror is one of them – and among the most heavily mined, thanks to the region’s rich mineral reserves. Much of what is extracted here feeds the booming construction industry in Delhi-NCR.

But are these mines operating within the law? Are safety norms being followed? And what does this relentless mining mean for the villages that sit in their shadow?

In the first part of our series ‘The Aravalli mess’, Newslaundry visited Pawana Ahir and Ajeetpura villages........

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