Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said that the Centre is “fully committed” to ensuring that the Aravalli mountain ranges remain green. Amid the ongoing protests demanding protection of Aravalli hills after the Supreme Court approved the Centre’s recommendations for sustainable mining there, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav backed the new norms and assured that the mountain range remains under robust ecological protection as mining activity will only be allowed in a mere “0.19 per cent of the area”.
“Mining activity in the Aravalli range will only be possible in 0.19 per cent of the area, which is less than one per cent, and even there, no new mines have been opened… This process has been made stricter. The main problem in the Aravalli range is illegal mining. To stop illegal mining, the Supreme Court has given this definition, and a review is still pending before it. With this comprehensive definition and strict provisions, 90 per cent of the area is completely protected,” Yadav said.
What are the Centre’s new definitions for Aravalli Hills and Aravalli Range?
Yadav’s remarks come a day after the Centre released a comprehensive factsheet that mentioned the ‘Operational Definitions’ of the Aravalli Hills and the Aravalli Range. It defines Aravalli Hills as “any landform located in the Aravalli districts, having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief, shall be termed as Aravalli Hills.” “Local relief” means the elevation difference between the hill and its surrounding base area.
According to the Centre, what forms the Aravalli Range is “two or more Aravalli Hills, as defined above, located within the proximity of 500m from each other, measured from the outermost point on the boundary of the lowest contour line on either side”.
Backing the new norms regulating mining in the Aravallis, the Union Minister also emphasised on what the Supreme Court said in its ruling. “The Supreme Court said two things in its judgment, which people are hiding. First, in the very first paragraph, they appreciated the Ministry of Environment’s, Green Aravalli Wall movement. Second, they asked: What constitutes the Aravalli Hills and the Aravalli Range? So, geologists worldwide, those who work in geology, accept a standard definition by Richard Murphy: that a hill that is 100 meters’ high is considered a mountain. Its height alone doesn’t define it as a mountain. From the height to the ground level, the entire 100 meters is protected, 90 per cent of the area is protected,” he said.
“There is no grey area. If there is a grey area, then the matter is in court; go and present it there,” he added.
