Centre's guidelines on Aravallis issue misleading, attempt to loot: Congress' Deepender Hooda

Gurugram: Congress leader Deepender Hooda on Friday termed the Centre's latest guidelines on the Aravallis an eyewash, saying the public will not allow the "loot" of the country's resources.

Addressing a press conference here, the party MP said the Centre's arguments on the Aravalli hills issue in the Supreme Court were flawed and malicious in intent.

He said the people have rejected the way the government presented its case in the top court to get the 100-metre definition approved.

"We will not allow the government to loot. Not only is the public rejecting the 100-metre parameter, but the Supreme Court's empowered committee has also said that the 100-metre limit is unjustified.

"The Supreme Court rejected its justification in 2010. The people of the country will not allow the backdoor attempt to sacrifice the environment to corruption to succeed," Hooda said.

He also demanded that the Haryana government make public the affidavit it submitted to the Supreme Court on the Aravalli issue.

"The order prohibiting the issuance of new mining leases is nothing more than a provisional compliance with previous Supreme Court orders," he said.

Hooda alleged that the Centre came up with the 100-metre rule at a time when the Delhi-NCR was choking under severe air pollution.

"The government should have instead pledged to plant millions of trees in the Aravalli region to ensure clean air for breathing.

"Today, farmhouses are being built in the Aravalli region… large-scale illegal mining, big real estate companies have entered this area. Illegal mining has caused immense damage to the Aravalli range, which the people of the country and the state are witnessing.

"The CAG report in Haryana stated that illegal mining resulted in a scam of approximately Rs 5,000 crore in the state," Hooda claimed.