New Delhi: A day after clarifying how only 0.19% of the total 1.44 lakh sq km area of Aravali can be eligible for mining, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said no new mining lease can be granted in Aravali hills and ranges till the finalisation of the management plan for sustainable mining (MPSM) for the entire landscape, and all existing mines must comply strictly with central committee’s stringent safeguard.Calling protests in certain quarters against the latest move a misinformed campaign based on wrong interpretation of facts, Yadav emphasised that the definition adopted by the Supreme Court does not relax any restrictions. He also accused the Congress party of spreading “lies”. SC had last month considered the recommendations of a central committee regarding uniform policy level definition of Aravali hills and ranges, specifically in the context of regulating mining, and accepted that all the landforms enclosed within the lowest binding contour, encircling hills of height of 100 metres or more irrespective of their height and slopes, are excluded for grant of mining lease.Asked the rationale behind adopting the 100 metres height threshold by the central committee, headed by Union environment secretary, Yadav said the panel used the globally accepted scientific standards (Richard Murphy’s Landform Classification of 1968) that identifies landform rising 100 metres above the local relief as hills and prohibits mining on both the hill and its supporting slopes. Cultivation/agriculture is the dominant land-use category, across the Aravali landscape districts, accounting for approximately 55% of the combined geographical area of the 37 districts falling within the Aravali hills and ranges.Besides accepting the definition of the Aravali hills and ranges, the apex court in its Nov 20 order also directed the environment ministry to prepare MPSM through Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) for the entire Aravalis on the lines of such plan for the Saranda forests in Jharkhand.Yadav said there is no basis for arriving at the conclusion that 90% of the Aravali has been opened up for mining when the MPSM is yet to be prepared as per the SC’s directions. “The Congress, which allowed rampant illegal mining in Rajasthan during its tenure, is spreading confusion, misinformation and lies about the issue,” he alleged. “The definition adopted by the court does not relax any existing restrictions. Instead, it provides additional safeguards through standardised and technically validated basis for regulation, supported by enhanced oversight and scientific planning,” said the minister. At present, 277 sq km out of a total nearly 1.44 lakh sq km of areas in Aravali is under mining lease. About the AuthorVishwa MohanVishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosNew Video Reveals Final Moments of Hindu Man Dipu Before Lynching in BangladeshIndians Trapped By H-1B Renewal Chaos As US VP JD Vance Defends Visa Curbs As Christian PoliticsEx-TMC MLA Humayun Kabir Launches New Party, Targets Mamata Banerjee Ahead of PollsMuhammad Yunus Interim Rule Sparks Alarm, Indian Diplomats Back Hasina On Anti India Narrative ShiftYogi Adityanath Says Vande Mataram Became Victim of Congress Appeasement PoliticsNew Zealand India FTA Sparks Coalition Rift As PM Christopher Luxon Backs Deal, NZ First Rejects ItGujarat Student Says He Was Forced To Fight For Russia As Indians Remain Trapped Ukraine War CrisisPTI Leaders Hold Massive Protest in Peshawar Against Imran Khan’s 17-Year Jail SentenceBangladesh Turmoil: Another Youth Leader Shot In Head Days After Osman Hadi’s KillingAravalli Hills Row: Why Definition Battle Could Decide Mining Water Security And AQI In North India123PhotostoriesDoes Niagara Falls freeze over in winter? 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New Delhi: A day after clarifying how only 0.19% of the total 1.44 lakh sq km area of Aravali can be eligible for mining, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said no new mining lease can be granted in Aravali hills and ranges till the finalisation of the management plan for sustainable mining (MPSM) for the entire landscape, and all existing mines must comply strictly with central committee’s stringent safeguard.Calling protests in certain quarters against the latest move a misinformed campaign based on wrong interpretation of facts, Yadav emphasised that the definition adopted by the Supreme Court does not relax any restrictions. He also accused the Congress party of spreading “lies”. SC had last month considered the recommendations of a central committee regarding uniform policy level definition of Aravali hills and ranges, specifically in the context of regulating mining, and accepted that all the landforms enclosed within the lowest binding contour, encircling hills of height of 100 metres or more irrespective of their height and slopes, are excluded for grant of mining lease.Asked the rationale behind adopting the 100 metres height threshold by the central committee, headed by Union environment secretary, Yadav said the panel used the globally accepted scientific standards (Richard Murphy’s Landform Classification of 1968) that identifies landform rising 100 metres above the local relief as hills and prohibits mining on both the hill and its supporting slopes. Cultivation/agriculture is the dominant land-use category, across the Aravali landscape districts, accounting for approximately 55% of the combined geographical area of the 37 districts falling within the Aravali hills and ranges.Besides accepting the definition of the Aravali hills and ranges, the apex court in its Nov 20 order also directed the environment ministry to prepare MPSM through Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) for the entire Aravalis on the lines of such plan for the Saranda forests in Jharkhand.Yadav said there is no basis for arriving at the conclusion that 90% of the Aravali has been opened up for mining when the MPSM is yet to be prepared as per the SC’s directions. “The Congress, which allowed rampant illegal mining in Rajasthan during its tenure, is spreading confusion, misinformation and lies about the issue,” he alleged. “The definition adopted by the court does not relax any existing restrictions. Instead, it provides additional safeguards through standardised and technically validated basis for regulation, supported by enhanced oversight and scientific planning,” said the minister. At present, 277 sq km out of a total nearly 1.44 lakh sq km of areas in Aravali is under mining lease.
