Concerns regarding the preservation of the ecologically delicate range in light of the government’s pledges are anticipated to be addressed at the Supreme Court’s important suo motu hearing on matters pertaining to the definition of the Aravalli Hills, which is set for Monday.
A bench made up of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih, will hear the suo motu writ petition titled “In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues” on December 29, according to the causelist posted on the supreme court’s website.
Growing worries about the preservation of the ecologically delicate Aravalli range and the government’s repeated promises to do so have prompted the Supreme Court to take up the matter on its own initiative.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has instructed state governments to implement a “complete ban” on giving any new mining leases in the Aravallis in an effort to boost ecological protection and stop illicit mining.
According to the Ministry, the ban will be applied consistently throughout the Aravalli region, which includes the mountain range that stretches from Delhi to Gujarat. It emphasized that ending uncontrolled mining operations and “preserving the integrity of the range as a continuous geological ridge” are the goals.
The MoEFCC has directed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional regions and zones within the Aravalli range where mining must be forbidden, in addition to the areas already limited by the Center, in order to further tighten the conservation framework.
In a similar incident, Congressman and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh expressed grave worries about the recent redefining of the Aravalli Hills in a letter to Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Sunday.
According to him, the new criteria limits their designation to features that are at least 100 meters above sea level.
“This is my most recent letter to the Union Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change asking four-pointed questions on the disastrous redefinition of the Aravallis,” Ramesh posted on the social media site X on Sunday.
In the letter dated December 28, the Congress leader raised four specific questions in an attempt to get clarification from the minister over what he described as widespread concerns regarding the new definition. “There are understandably widespread concerns with the re-definition of the Aravalli Hills that restricts them to landforms having an elevation of 100 meters or more,” he wrote in reference to Minister Yadav. Permit me to suggest four specific questions for your consideration in this regard.
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