Mumbai, Dec 29 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to stay its November 20 order on the new definition of the Aravalli range, saying the relief,
though huge, must be made permanent.
In a post on X, Thackeray said it is also important not to fall prey to the misinformation campaign about the Aravalli Range being safe.
"The stay order from the Hon'ble Supreme Court for the Aravalli Range is a huge but temporary relief. It's important to seal this permanently," he wrote.
The apex court on Monday kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict, in which it had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges recommended by a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It also proposed to constitute a high-powered committee comprising domain experts to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue.
The former minister said the result would not have been possible without the mass movement of citizens in Rajasthan, who showed that it is the planet that mattered and "not the dirty intentions of those wanting to exploit the planet".
"I hope that we are able to bring the strongest protection to the Aravalli Range and to nature across the country," Thackeray said in his post.
A committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had earlier recommended a change in the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges. It had stated that the "Aravalli Hill" be defined as any landform in the 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.
Activists, scientists and opposition alleged that the redefinition could open vast stretches of the fragile mountain ecosystem to mining. PTI PR ARU
