In June 2025, farmers of Mustafabad village in Karnal district of Haryana protested against the alleged attempt to hand over their agricultural land to a private mining contractor for sand-storage purposes without their consent.
The protest erupted on 5 June 2025 after company employees reached the village in the presence of officials and started dumping sand in the fields. The farmers alleged that they were never informed or consulted before the district administration allotted the land to the sand contractor. They also rejected the lease offer of Rs 1 lakh per acre, stating that the move would damage paddy nurseries and adversely affect soil fertility and their livelihood.
In a memorandum to SDM Karnal Anubhav Mehta, protesting farmers said that nearly 24 acres of fertile land belonging to around 10 farmers were being taken without the consent of the farmers or prior notices. Following which, the sand dumping activity in the fields was paused for the time being.
Farmers also said that they had earlier given a written complaint to the tehsil administration and SDM office stating that they do not want to give their land for mining work. Despite this, the employees and officers of the mining company entered the fields with heavy police force and took action.
SDM Karnal Anubhav Mehta told the Tribune that the process is within the legal framework and land at Mustafabad village is a part of Dabarkipar mining block allotted by the Mining Department under Haryana Minor Mineral Concession, Stocking and Transportation of Mineral and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2012. He further said that the Mining Department has been asked to reach out to farmers.
After 12 consecutive days of protest, a five-member committee was formed by appointing two leaders each from the farmers' and the company's side and an “objective” member. After the discussion, the farmers ended their 12-day protest and allowed the private sand mining company to store sand on their agricultural land. Other details of the meeting were not made public.
The members of the committee included Dharambir Lathar from Funsgarh village and Satbir Singh from Mangalora village from the contractor's side, and Chandrabhan from Dhakwala Gujran village and Mukesh Kumar from Karnal from the farmers' side.
Ratan Mann, the state president for the Bharatiya Kisan Union in Karnal, Haryana, who was leading the protest, told Land Conflict Watch, “Our ‘panch’, (elected leaders of the village council) have decided to end the protest.” He also said that sand is being stored on the farmers’ land since the protest ended on June 17.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project underway despite protests
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
No
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
No
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
Yes
When did it end?
June 2025
Why did the conflict end?
The protest of farmers that started in Mustafabad due to the dispute arising out of a private mining company dumping sand on farmers' fields without their permission ended after a five-member committee was formed to resolve the issue. The committee included two leaders each from the farmers' and the company's side and an “objective” member. After the discussion, the farmers ended their 12-day protest and allowed the private sand mining company to store sand on their agricultural land. Other details of the meeting were not made public. The members of the committee included Dharambir Lathar from Funsgarh village and Satbir Singh from Mangalora village from the contractor's side, and Chandrabhan from Dhakwala Gujran village and Mukesh Kumar from Karnal from the farmers' side.
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Mining and Geology Department, Haryana; Sub-divisional magistrate, Karnal
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Bharatiya Kisan Union, Haryana
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
