No easing of Aravalli mining curbs, govt clarifies after SC ruling

The Union government on Sunday rejected claims that environmental protections for the Aravalli range have been diluted following a recent Supreme Court judgment, asserting that no relaxation has been granted for mining and warning against what it termed a deliberate attempt to spread confusion over a long-pending and sensitive issue.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

The rebuttal followed a clarification issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and came more than a month after the Supreme Court, on November 20, delivered its judgment in In Re: Issue Relating to Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said the controversy arose from a misrepresentation of the court’s ruling, particularly references to a 100-metre criteriona in defining the Aravalli hills.

“There is no dilution and no relaxation. Some people are deliberately trying to create confusion on an issue that has been under judicial scrutiny since 1985,” Yadav said, adding that the thrust has consistently been on strict regulation, especially of mining activities.

The Supreme Court accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills recommended by a committee constituted by the Environment Ministry, under which an Aravalli hill is defined as a landform rising at least 100 metres above the surrounding local relief, measured from the lowest contour line encircling the landform and including its slopes and associated landforms.