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NEW DELHI: Amid all-round protests over Supreme Court’s acceptance of a uniform definition of Aravali hills, the Union environment ministry on Wednesday sought to defuse the crisis by deciding to further expand prohibited areas and directed a central institution to identify additional areas/zones in the entire mountain range where mining should be prohibited, over and above the areas already identified for mining ban.At present, 0.2% of the total 1.4 lakh sq km area of Aravali is eligible for mining. The new direction on Wednesday means the prohibited areas may ultimately be extended even within this 0.2% area.”This exercise by the Centre would further enlarge the coverage of areas protected and prohibited from mining in the entire Aravalis, keeping in mind the local topography, ecology and biodiversity,” said the ministry after issuing the direction.
Besides asking the central institution, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), to identify additional areas for a mining ban, the ministry also directed Aravali-range states for a ban on the grant of any new mining leases in the area.Though the ministry’s direction is a reiteration of what the apex court ordered on Nov 20, it was issued to bring more clarity on the entire issue in the wake of public protests. ‘For mines already in operation, states have to ensure compliance’ This prohibition applies uniformly across the entire Aravali landscape and is intended to preserve the integrity of the range. The directions are aimed at safeguarding the Aravalis as a continuous geological ridge extending from Gujarat to the National Capital Region, and at stopping all unregulated mining activities,” said the ministry.The apex court had in its judgment on Nov 20 clearly directed that “no new mining leases shall be granted till the finalisation of the Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM)” for the entire Aravalis.”Accordingly, ICFRE is directed to look into the entire Aravali landscape including its continuity as a geological ridge extending from Gujarat to Delhi while preparing MPSM and to identify all such land forms/zones where mining needs to be prohibited in addition to the areas which already stand prohibited for mining including the core/inviolate areas and the hills and ranges so that the same could also be conserved and protected,” said the ministry’s letter to chief secretaries of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.The Centre has also directed that for the mines already in operation, the state govts concerned shall ensure strict compliance with all environmental safeguards and in conformity with the Supreme Court’s order. “Ongoing mining activities are to be regulated stringently, with additional restrictions, to ensure environmental protection and adherence to sustainable mining practices,” said the ministry.Clarifying a media report on the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) purported views of disapproving a new 100-metre definition threshold for mining prohibition in the Aravalis, sources in the ministry said such expert view was never presented before the apex court as part of the CEC’s view as it was an individual expert member’s comment in the context of protecting the mountain range.The official clarified that one of the CEC members, J R Bhatt, attended the deliberations on the subject on Oct 3, but no examination of the report, prepared by the ministry, had been done by the CEC.”Hence, the views attributed to the CEC in the affidavit filed by the ministry are, in fact, those of Bhatt and not of the CEC,” said the official, underlining that the CEC is of the considered opinion that the 100-metre definition will be adopted in order to ensure the protection and conservation of the ecology of the Aravali Hills and its range.
