Before row, work began to map Aravalli by new rule

Around two weeks after the Supreme Court accepted an elevation-based Aravalli definition, the Union environment ministry held a meeting on December 8 to set in motion a process for states to begin delineating which areas in Aravallis qualify for a sustainable mining plan-critical groundwork that uses the contested definition and will establish the baseline for future mining permissions.

- Jayashree Nandi

Documents from the meeting reviewed by HT show the environment ministry coordinated a framework where state governments will work with the Survey of India to map Aravalli areas “as per the definition accepted by the SC on November 20.”

This delineation work—identifying which landforms meet the 100-metre elevation threshold—forms the foundation for all subsequent decisions about where mining can occur.

The meeting, according to the minutes and agenda seen by HT, was to discuss and come up with action points to start the process of drawing up the Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli range through Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).

The mapping will act as a crucial precursor to approvals of mining processes once the court-ordered MPSM is drawn up. The MPSM will determine where mining is permissible within those delineated areas.

The decision to initiate the legwork based on the controversial definition has drawn sharp criticism from environmental experts who argue the criteria will exclude large portions of the mountain range from protection entirely. These concerns have raged in the last week.

The December 8 meeting, chaired by the environment ministry secretary, brought together representatives from ICFRE, Forest Survey of India, Survey of India, the mines ministry, and forest and mining officials from Aravalli states. Meeting minutes signed off on December 17 detail action points for preparing the MPSM, modelled on a similar plan for Saranda forests in Jharkhand.