Congress accuses Centre of 'misleading' public on Aravalli mining ban

The Congress on Thursday stepped up its attack on the Centre over the redefinition of the Aravallis, accusing Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav of "misleading and misinforming" the public and alleging that the move could leave large parts of the ancient mountain range unprotected.

- ANAND SINGH

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. (File photo)

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government was using the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to push a new definition of “hills” that would open up much of the Aravallis to mining and real estate activity. He claimed the FSI was now under additional charge of the Ministry's ADG and was being directed to toe the Minister's line.

Ramesh said the FSI's own internal assessment had cautioned the Ministry and questioned whether it was being suppressed. “The raw data is with the FSI. Why doesn’t the Minister ask it to carry out a formal study and publish an elevation chart of the many hills of varying heights across the 15 Aravalli districts of Rajasthan?” he asked.