Lawyer-activist urges CJI, President to revisit Supreme Court’s 100-metre Aravalli definition

A day after the Centre issued a clarification amid concerns raised by environmentalists over the alleged dilution of protections for the Aravalli hills, lawyer and activist Hitendra Gandhi wrote to Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision on defining the ancient mountain range.

The top court last month accepted the Centre’s definition of the Aravalli hills. As per the definition, only hills with an elevation of 100 metres and above will be considered part of the Aravalli range. However, Gandhi argued that such a criterion could weaken environmental protection for the mountain range across north-west India.

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In the letter, which was also addressed to the President of India, the lawyer-activist raised concerns over the operational definition adopted by the top court. The development comes a day after the Centre clarified that the ‘100-metre rule’ has been misinterpreted by YouTubers and that only 0.19 per cent of the Aravalli hills area will be eligible for mining.

Speaking to reporters, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav, who represents the Alwar Lok Sabha constituency, one of the regions that significantly benefits from the Aravalli ecosystem, reiterated that there were no relaxations in the protection of the Aravalli range.

“The total Aravalli area is about 1.47 lakh square kilometres. Only around 217 square kilometres is eligible for mining. Even so, the Supreme Court has directed that a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining be prepared. After that, permission from the ICFRE will be required before any activity can proceed,” Yadav said.

He added that some YouTube channels have misinterpreted the 100-metre definition. “Some YouTube channels wrongly interpret the 100 metres as the top 100 metres, which is not true. The 100 metres refers to the spread of the hill from top to bottom, and the gap between two ranges will also be considered part of the Aravalli range. With this definition, 90 per cent of the area falls under the protected zone,” he clarified.

Yadav further stated that all protected areas and forest reserves in Delhi will remain unchanged. “Our government has been running a Green Aravalli programme for the past two years. We are very committed to protecting the Aravalli, and a false narrative is being created,” he added.