Centre rejects mining push charge behind Aravalli definition change

New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday rejected reports that the definition of the Aravalli hills had been changed to allow large-scale mining, and cited a Supreme Court-ordered freeze on new mining leases in the region.

It said a Supreme Court-approved framework provides for stronger protection of the mountain system and places a freeze on new mining leases until a comprehensive management plan is finalised.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav told reporters in the Sundarban Tiger Reserve that the SC-approved definition will bring more than 90 per cent of the Aravalli region under "protected area." In an explanation issued amid controversy over the "100-metre" criterion, the government said the definition of Aravalli hills and range has been standardised across states on the directions of the Supreme Court to remove ambiguity and prevent misuse, particularly practices that allowed mining to continue dangerously close to hill bases.

Sources in the Environment Ministry said the Supreme Court, while hearing long-pending cases on illegal mining in the Aravallis, had constituted a committee in May 2024 to recommend a "uniform definition", as different states were following inconsistent criteria while granting mining permissions.

The committee, chaired by the Environment Ministry secretary and comprising representatives from Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi along with technical bodies, found that only Rajasthan had a formally established definition, which it has been following since 2006.

That definition treats landforms rising 100 metres or more above local relief as hills and prohibits mining within the lowest bounding contour enclosing such hills, irrespective of the height or slope of landforms inside the contour.

The sources said all four states agreed to adopt this long-standing Rajasthan definition, along with additional safeguards to make it objective and transparent.

These include treating hills located within 500 metres of each other as a single range, mandatory mapping of hills and ranges on Survey of India maps before any mining decision and clear identification of core and inviolate areas where mining is prohibited.

In a backgrounder, the government rejected claims that mining had been permitted in areas below 100 metres and said the restriction applies to entire hill systems and their enclosed landforms and not merely to the hill peak or slope.

It said it is "incorrect to conclude" that all landforms below 100 metres are open for mining.

The government said the apex court has accepted the committee's recommendation to prohibit mining in core and inviolate areas, including protected areas, eco-sensitive zones, tiger reserves, wetlands and areas close to such sites, while allowing limited exemptions only for critical, strategic and deep-seated minerals in national interest.

According to the Supreme Court's directions, no new mining leases will be granted in the Aravalli region until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining is prepared for the entire landscape by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.

Existing mines may continue operations only if they strictly comply with sustainable mining norms laid down by the committee.

The government said district-level analysis across Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat shows that legally approved mining currently covers only a very small fraction of the Aravalli region, amounting to about 0.19 per cent of the total geographical area of 37 Aravalli districts.

Delhi, which has five Aravalli districts, does not permit any mining.

The government said the primary threat to the Aravallis remains illegal and unregulated mining, and the committee has recommended stronger monitoring, enforcement and use of technology such as drones and surveillance to address this issue.