Aravalli Mining Row: Supreme Court Orders Expert Panel, Sets 4-Week Timeline

Warning

that illegal mining can cause irreversible environmental damage, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will set up an expert committee to carry out a comprehensive review of mining and related issues in the Aravalli hill range.A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and court-appointed amicus curiae K Parameshwar to suggest, within four weeks, the names of environmentalists and scientists with expertise in mining. The committee will function under the court’s supervision, the bench said.The court also extended its earlier order keeping in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges.

During the hearing, the court was informed that illegal mining was occurring in scattered locations. Taking note of the concern, the bench recorded an assurance from Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Rajasthan government, that no unauthorised mining would be allowed.The case arose after the court took suo motu cognisance of disputes over the definition of the Aravalli hills, registered as In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues.Amid criticism of the definition approved earlier, the court on December 29 had paused its November 20 order, citing “critical ambiguities.” These included concerns that criteria such as a minimum elevation of 100 metres and a 500-metre gap between hills could remove large portions of the range from environmental protection.

The court on November 20 had accepted recommendations of a committee formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, adopting a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges. It had also banned the grant of new mining leases across Aravalli areas in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until expert studies are completed.The committee had proposed defining an “Aravalli Hill” as any landform in designated Aravalli districts rising at least 100 metres above local relief, and an “Aravalli Range” as a group of two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other.(With PTI inputs)