Centre welcomes SC order on Aravalli; Congress seeks Bhupender Yadav's resignation

New Delhi: The Modi government on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court staying its order on ‘Aravallis’ even as the Congress called for Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav's resignation claiming that the apex court has exposed him by rejecting all his arguments favouring the new definition.

Yadav said he welcomed the Supreme Court stay on its order concerning the Aravalli range and the formation of a new committee to study issues.

“We stand committed to extending all assistance sought from MOEFCC in the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range. As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regards to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases,” he said on X.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that the party welcomed the Supreme Court order but reminded that it is only a "temporary respite" and the struggle to save the Aravallis from the "machinations of the Modi government to open it up to mining, real estate, and other activities will have to be resisted in a sustained manner". 

In a statement, he said the issue is now to be studied in greater detail and it needs to be recalled that the redefinition has been opposed by the Forest Survey of India, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, and by the amicus curiae himself. 

"There is now a temporary respite but the struggle to save the Aravallis from the machinations of the Modi Government to open it up to mining, real estate, and other activities will have to be resisted in a sustained manner. Today’s Supreme Court directive gives a flicker of hope," he said.

"In light of this judgment, the Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change must resign immediately. It is a rejection of all the arguments he has been giving in favour of the redefinition," he said.

The Supreme Court had accepted the recommendation of an expert committee that "Aravalli Hill" will be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. Congress and others had opposed this definition saying it would open up 90 per cent of the Aravallis to indiscriminate mining.

Separately, he said it was not a victory for any party or any individual but a victory for saving India's environment. He said Yadav had accused him and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of playing politics on the issue of redefinition of the Aravallis. 

"Today, the air has been cleared by the Supreme Court, which has stayed the redefinition of the Aravallis that the government of India was pushing through. They were bent on destroying the sensitive ecosystem of the Aravallis, which is so important for Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, and most importantly for Rajasthan from where the minister hails...Today he has been exposed in the Supreme Court," he said. 

Before the Supreme Court order, Ramesh said there is more evidence of how the new definition of the Aravallis will cause further havoc in an already devastated ecosystem.

"It is not just mining but real estate development that is being opened up by the double-engine sarkar in New Delhi-Jaipur against the recommendations of the Forest Survey of India," Ramesh said on 'X'.