Amid nationwide outrage and protests, the Supreme Court on Saturday took the suo motu cognisance of the matter pertaining to the recent change in the definition of Aravalli hills.
A three-judge vacation bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice A G Masih will hear the matter listed as ‘Definition of Aravalli Hills and Mountain Ranges and Related Issues’ on Monday.
The development comes amid the nationwide outrage and protests over the purported changes in the definition of Aravalli hills.
Last month, the top court had accepted the Centre’s definition of Aravalli hills. As per the definition, only hills with an elevation of 100 meters and above will be considered as part of the Aravalli range.
Following the decision, several environmental activists expressed concerns that the move could pave the way for unregulated mining in the Aravalli range and pose serious risks to the mountain range’s ecosystem.
As the issue raged and protests intensified, the government issued a clarification, saying that the ‘100 meter rule’ has been misinterpreted by YouTubers and that only 0.19 per cent area of Aravalli range will be eligible for mining.
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav, who represents the Alwar Lok Sabha seat — one of the regions that significantly benefits from the Aravalli ecosystem — reiterated that there are 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 ICFRE will be required before any activity can proceed,” Yadav said.
Yadav further stated that all protected areas and forest reserves 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.