AMID growing protests against a recent Government Resolution accepting new definition of the Aravalli hills as laid down by the Supreme Court, the Centre has embarked upon a firefighting job issuing directions to States for a complete ban on granting new mining leases in the eco-sensitive region. The new direction has come after fears of destruction of the country’s oldest mountain range are being aired vehemently by environmentalists and people living in the Aravalli hills region. Imposing complete ban on new mining leases in the Aravallis is a welcome step but the larger issue of the new definition threatening its very existence remains unsolved.

 

The hills need protection, not only from illegal mining but also from the possibility of losing its status as the Green Wall that protects multiple States. The Aravalli hills are one of the world’s oldest geological formations spanning across Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi-NCR region. It acts as a climactic agent for these States by standing as a barrier between the Thar desert and Gangetic plains and also helping in charging groundwater for northern parts of the country. Its importance is immense in India’s ecological ecosystem and the movement to save it from rampant exploitation is a reality that must be addressed without any biases by the Centre. The Union Government has sought to allay fears about the new definition of the Aravalli hills which says “Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more hills of 100 metres elevation within 500 metres of each other”. The new criteria, accepted by the Supreme Court in its November order, says only landforms at an elevation of 100 metres or more should be considered as part of the mountain system. However, the new definition has come totally in contrast with the Government’s earlier stand in the apex court based on Forest Survey of India’s estimates made in 2010. According to that estimate, over 90 per cent hills would be out of that ambit of the 100-metre height filter. The FSI assessment had further stated that if all Aravalli hills are considered as per the 100-metre definition, then over 99 per cent do not meet the criteria.

 

The fears are real while the truth remains wrapped in the numbers game. The Supreme Court must intervene into the matter yet again and weed out the ambiguity surrounding the “local relief” clause. It stokes apprehensions that height of a hill will not be measured from the lowest elevation of a State but from the immediate surroundings of the hill. It automatically changes the geographical contours for various hills situated at different points of a slope. If the “local relief” criteria is applied to define the Aravallis, then majority of the hills will not qualify as part of the mountain range and will be open for other activities including mining.

 

It is a major issue which must not be allowed to become only a political ping-pong. The Centre has ruled out new mining leases in the Aravalli range but it hardly addresses the bigger issue. Illegal mining is rampant in many parts of the range in Rajasthan while construction projects are in full swing in NCR. There is just too much human intervention while the respective governments struggle to check it due to lack of man-power and surveillance equipment. New permissions as per the changed definition will only swell the problem and sound death knell to the eco-sensitive zone. The range is a biodiversity hotspot. Human greed must not allow destruction of their natural habitat. It will cause a massive imbalance and irreversible damage. All the stakeholders must take lessons from the natural disasters striking the Himalayan ranges due to climate change. Wanton construction in many fragile ecological zones has led to situations where things have gone out of human control. The country has already seen the face of disaster in the Western Ghats which are still paying the price of human insensitivity. The Aravalli Hills must get a proper shield, formed by humans.