GURGAON: On Wednesday, the Union environment ministry (MoEF) announced it would look to further reduce permissible mining area in the Aravalis. However, exactly a week before that, on Dec 17, it had moved forward to operationalise a new 100m definition of Aravalis - which has drawn all-round protests - by instructing Survey of India (SoI) to begin mapping the ranges on that basis.
The definition, proposed by a technical panel of the ministry and adopted by Supreme Court on Nov 20 for the purpose of mining, only recognises a landform rising 100m or more from the lowest enclosing contour as an Aravali hill, with hills within 500m clubbed as a range.
This has triggered concern about conservation efforts getting undermined becasue the Aravalis, which act as a barrier between Thar desert and the northern plains, are predominantly low-lying.
The MoEF direction to Survey of India is contained in a Dec 17 office memorandum that follows a Dec 8 meeting chaired by the environment secretary to implement the Supreme Court-adopted definition. The minutes state that Survey of India "shall, upon request of the state govts, provide all necessary assistance for marking and delineation of areas on toposheets as per the definition of Aravali hills and ranges accepted by Hon'ble SC".
The ministry is also proceeding with Supreme Court's direction to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravali system through Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). Till MPSM is finalised, no new mining leases can be granted, while existing operations may continue only in line with the court-appointed committee's recommendations.
Minutes of the Dec 8 meeting also record that district-wise mining plans may be prepared only if a range is treated as a single continuous ecological system so that "continuity and integrity of the Aravali system is duly maintained".
Environmentalists have warned that shifting to a height-based marker linked to local relief will significantly shrink the legally recognised ranges. M D Sinha, an Aravali expert and retired south Haryana conservator of forests, told TOI on Thursday, "Hills that meet this local-relief test may account for less than 10% of the Aravalis."
The ministry has maintained that Supreme Court's adoption of the 100m definition does not dilute mining controls. Mining is currently permissible in 0.2% of the Aravali area.
Incidentally, the MoEF affidavit on which Supreme Court relied to adopt the 100m definition had also noted that height and slope are insufficient parameters in delineating what constitutes Aravali hills and ranges. The affidavit underlines the contradictions in an exercise to come up with a uniform definition for a heterogenous hill range with wide variations in character. It shows the ministry's technical panel used the process of elimination to arrive at its goal but doesn't explain how the 100m elevation logic squares up against the discarded parameters such as Forest Survey of India's slope index.
The affidavit, in fact, notes that "although average elevation is often used as a broad indicator for a hill", in the case of the Aravalis, "a sole criterion cannot suffice" and would lead to "inclusion and exclusion error" given the "considerable internal variation in terrain".
Minutes of the Dec 8 MoEF meeting also formalise ICFRE's role in drawing up MSMP, mandating it to prepare a detailed chart of action plans and timelines and ensure that methodology, datasets and studies are properly documented and maintained in digital form.
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Ipsita Pati is an environment journalist with over a decade of ex...
Read MoreIpsita Pati is an environment journalist with over a decade of experience, currently reporting for The Times of India. She covers climate change, land use, and green laws, with a focus on regulatory accountability. Her work highlights the environmental implications of policy decisions and development on ground.
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