Centre rejects mining push charge behind Aravalli definition

The Centre connected Sunday (December 21, 2025) rejected reports that the explanation of the Aravalli hills had been changed to let large-scale mining, and cited a Supreme Court-ordered frost connected caller mining leases successful the region.

It said a Supreme Court-approved framework provides for stronger extortion of the upland strategy and places a frost connected caller mining leases until a broad absorption program is finalised.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav told reporters successful the Sundarban Tiger Reserve that the Supreme Court-approved explanation volition bring much than 90% of the Aravalli portion nether “protected area.”

In an mentation issued amid contention implicit the “100-metre” criterion, the authorities said the explanation of Aravalli hills and scope has been standardised crossed states connected the directions of the Supreme Court to region ambiguity and forestall misuse, peculiarly practices that allowed mining to proceed dangerously adjacent to elevation bases.

Sources successful the Environment Ministry said the Supreme Court, portion proceeding long-pending cases connected amerciable mining successful the Aravallis, had constituted a committee successful May 2024 to urge a “uniform definition”, arsenic antithetic states were pursuing inconsistent criteria portion granting mining permissions.

The committee, chaired by the Environment Ministry caput and comprising representatives from Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi on with method bodies, recovered that lone Rajasthan had a formally established definition, which it has been pursuing since 2006.

That explanation treats landforms rising 100 metres oregon much supra section alleviation arsenic hills and prohibits mining wrong the lowest bounding contour enclosing specified hills, irrespective of the tallness oregon slope of landforms wrong the contour.

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The sources said each 4 states agreed to follow this long-standing Rajasthan definition, on with further safeguards to marque it nonsubjective and transparent.

These see treating hills located wrong 500 metres of each different arsenic a azygous range, mandatory mapping of hills and ranges connected Survey of India maps earlier immoderate mining determination and wide recognition of halfway and inviolate areas wherever mining is prohibited.

In a backgrounder, the authorities rejected claims that mining had been permitted successful areas beneath 100 metres and said the regularisation applies to full elevation systems and their enclosed landforms and not simply to the elevation highest oregon slope.

It said it is “incorrect to conclude” that each landforms beneath 100 metres are unfastened for mining.

The authorities said the apex tribunal has accepted the committee’s proposal to prohibit mining successful halfway and inviolate areas, including protected areas, eco-sensitive zones, tiger reserves, wetlands and areas adjacent to specified sites, portion allowing constricted exemptions lone for critical, strategical and deep-seated minerals successful nationalist interest.

According to the Supreme Court’s directions, nary caller mining leases volition beryllium granted successful the Aravalli portion until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining is prepared for the full scenery by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.

Existing mines whitethorn proceed operations lone if they strictly comply with sustainable mining norms laid down by the committee.

The authorities said district-level investigation crossed Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat shows that legally approved mining presently covers lone a precise tiny fraction of the Aravalli region, amounting to astir 0.19 per cent of the full geographical country of 37 Aravalli districts.

Delhi, which has 5 Aravalli districts, does not licence immoderate mining.

The authorities said the superior menace to the Aravallis remains amerciable and unregulated mining, and the committee has recommended stronger monitoring, enforcement and usage of exertion specified arsenic drones and surveillance to code this issue.