Issues Surrounding Aravalli Mountain System

Environmental Overview of the Aravalli Range

Geographic and Ecological Significance:

• Extends nearly 700 km from eastern Gujarat to southern Haryana, covering Rajasthan and Delhi.
• Acts as a crucial ecological barrier, providing:
  • Biodiversity support.
  • Aquifer recharge.
  • Regulation of hot winds affecting northern India.
  • Mitigation against the encroachment of the Thar Desert into the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Supreme Court and Environmental Panel Rulings:

• A panel from the Union Environment Ministry, accepted by the Supreme Court, has redefined the Aravalli's area for mining purposes, shrinking it by up to 90% in Rajasthan.
• New criteria classify only landforms above 100 metres elevation as part of the Aravalli system:
  • Out of 12,081 hills mapped, only 1,048 (20 metres or higher) meet this new threshold.
• Concerns arise that this redefinition could exacerbate ecological degradation of the Aravallis, which have already lost a quarter of their total hills.

Prior Environmental Action Plans:

• The Aravalli Landscape Restoration Action Plan (May) recognizes threats from:
  • Deforestation
  • Mining activities
  • Grazing and human encroachment.
• Highlights the impact of desertification on areas like Gurugram and Alwar.

Judicial Precedents:

• Since 2002, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the integral function of all topographical features (hills, plateaus, plains) of the Aravalli as a collective environmental system.
• Not notable rulings include:
  • In 2018, a ruling emphasized that the absence of hillocks would increase pollution in New Delhi.

Future Directions:

• The Supreme Court has requested the Environment Ministry to formulate a sustainable mining plan for the newly declassified areas.
• Concerns about the long-term implications of the Supreme Court's acceptance of the government's new height filter on the integrity of the Aravalli system are prevalent among environmentalists.

Key Takeaways:

• The redefinition and reduction of the Aravalli region raise significant ecological concerns and conflict with established environmental policies and judicial precedents.
• The maintenance and protection of the Aravalli range, recognized as a vital ecological system, is critical for sustaining the environmental health of North India.