New Delhi : The Supreme Court has put on hold its earlier order dated November 20 that accepted the Union Environment Ministry’s definition of the Aravalli Hills and the Aravalli Range. The November decision had raised concerns that large parts of the Aravalli region could be opened to regulated mining activities.
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih has now directed the constitution of a fresh expert committee to re-examine the issues related to the definition of the Aravallis. The Court has also issued notices to the Centre and the four Aravalli states—Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, and Haryana—seeking their responses in a suo motu case on the matter.
On Saturday, the apex court took suo motu cognisance of growing concerns over the newly notified definition of the Aravalli Range, following strong criticism from environmentalists and opposition parties. The objections centre on the Centre’s definition, which relies on a 100-metre height criterion and is feared to adversely affect the fragile mountain ecosystem.
Earlier, on December 24, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) directed states to impose a complete ban on granting new mining leases in the Aravalli region. The ban applies across the entire Aravalli landscape and aims to protect the range as a continuous geological formation extending from Gujarat to the National Capital Region, while curbing unregulated mining.
The Aravalli Range is a 670-kilometre-long mountain system in northwestern India, stretching from Delhi through Haryana and Rajasthan to Gujarat. Its highest peak, Guru Shikhar, located in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, rises to 1,722 metres. The Aravallis are the oldest fold mountain range in India, dating back nearly two billion years.
