Bhupendra Yadav and Jairam Ramesh (ANI images)
NEW DELHI: The Indian National Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s directive regarding the redefinition of the Aravalli Hills and demanded the resignation of union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a post on X wrote, “In light of this decision, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change should resign immediately. This ruling dismisses all the arguments they were making in favor of changing the definition.”
This comes after the Supreme Court put on hold its earlier decision of November 20, which had accepted the Central Environment Ministry’s definition of the Aravalli Hills and the Aravalli Range. The November order had effectively exposed large parts of the Aravalli region to potential regulated mining and other commercial activities, raising concerns about ecological degradation and loss of natural barriers against desertification.Reacting to the top court’s order, Ramesh further wrote, “The Indian National Congress welcomes the directives issued by the Supreme Court on the Modi government’s attempts to alter the definition of the Aravalli.” The Congress leader also stated that the matter requires further study, highlighting that the proposed changes have already faced opposition from the Forest Survey of India and the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee. He added that the top court’s order has sparked ‘a ray of hope’. “A more detailed study of this issue will now be conducted. It is essential to remember that the opposition to this new definition had also come from the Forest Survey of India itself, the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee, and the court’s amicus curiae. For now, this has certainly provided some temporary relief, but the struggle against the Modi government’s conspiracies to open up the Aravalli for mining, real estate, and other activities must be continued relentlessly and with greater strength. Today, the Supreme Court’s directives have sparked a ray of hope, ” Ramesh added. The apex body’s order emphasized that the matter requires a more detailed and comprehensive study. The court observed that earlier expert reports and its own observations had been “misconstrued” in some quarters and directed that a new high-powered committee of domain experts be constituted to conduct a thorough “multi-temporal examination” of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges. This committee will assess the structural and ecological integrity of the hill range, which serves as the only natural barrier preventing the Thar Desert from advancing into the fertile Gangetic plains.The Supreme Court has also issued notices to the Centre and the four states through which the Aravalli range passes Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi seeking their responses in the suo motu case titled In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues.Environmentalists have highlighted that over 1,200 mining leases are currently active in Aravalli districts across Rajasthan, underlining the importance of an independent and detailed review to protect water security, air quality and the overall ecological balance in the region.