Context:
Following concerns over environmental degradation and a recent Supreme Court of India judgment, the Union Environment Ministry clarified that mining in the Aravalli Range will be highly restricted and allowed only after a scientific, district-wise assessment by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).
Summary
• Mining cap: Only 0.19% of the Aravalli landscape (≈ 277.89 sq km) will be eligible for mining.
• State-wise breakup: Of this mining area, 247.21 sq km in Rajasthan, 27.35 sq km in Gujarat, 3.33 sq km in Haryana.
• No new leases: No fresh mining leases will be granted until a detailed study is completed.
• Study mandate: ICFRE to prepare a district-by-district Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM).
• Zonation approach: The study will demarcate permissible mining areas, ecologically sensitive and conservation-critical zones, and restoration-priority areas.
• Supreme Court backing: Court accepted the expert committee’s recommendations on “core” and inviolable areas.
New definition clarified:
• Aravalli hills defined not merely by 100-metre elevation, but by entire hill structure and spread.
• Mining prohibited around or beneath hill structures.
• Exception: Mining may be allowed only for critical, strategic and atomic minerals.
• Environmental importance: Aravallis act as a green barrier against desertification in the Indo-Gangetic plains, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
