Bhupender Yadav welcomes SC’s Aravalli order as Congress demands his resignation

UNion surroundings, forests, and mood convert government minister Bhupender Yadav on mon welcomed the Supreme Court’s stay on its November 20 judgment, narrowing the definition of the Aravalli range, and promised all assistance in its protection and restoration, even as the Opposition Congress demanded his resignation.“I welcome the Supreme Court directions introducing a stay on its order concerning the Aravalli range, and the formation of a new committee to study issues. As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regards to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases,” Yadav wrote on X.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the Supreme Court directives on Monday a flicker of hope and a rejection of Yadav’s arguments in favour of the redefinition. “In light of this judgment, the Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change [Yadav] must resign immediately.”Ramesh said the Congress welcomes the fresh Supreme Court directives on the redefinition of the Aravallis being pushed through by the government. “The issue is now to be studied in greater detail. ...the redefinition has been opposed by the Forest Survey of India, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, and by the amicus curiae himself. “Ramesh called the court order a temporary respite. “...the struggle to save the Aravallis from the machinations of the Modi Government to open it up to mining, real estate, and other activities will have to be resisted in a sustained manner,” he wrote on X.The November 20 judgment narrowed the definition of the Aravalli range to landforms rising at least 100 metres above the surrounding terrain. On Monday, the court decided to reopen and re-examine the contentious question of what constitutes the Aravallis and how mining should be regulated there.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices JK Maheshwari and AG Masih proposed the constitution of a high-powered expert committee to assess concerns relating to the height-based definition, ecological continuity, and permissible mining.The court initiated suo motu proceedings on December 27 amid growing criticism of the November 20 judgment, which accepted an expert committee’s recommendation to define the Aravallis purely on an elevation-based criterion. Under the definition, only landforms rising at least 100 metres above the local relief, measured from the lowest contour encircling the landform to its peak, qualify as the Aravalli hills.Environmental experts and conservationists warned that this excluded large tracts of smaller hills, ridges, and undulating terrain from the continuous geological and ecological system of the Aravallis. They argued that it potentially opened them up to mining and development.The controversy intensified after the Union environment ministry, on December 8, convened a meeting to initiate groundwork for delineating Aravalli areas “as per the definition accepted by the SC on November 20”. State governments and the Survey of India were tasked with mapping qualifying landforms. That exercise was intended to serve as the baseline for a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.The delineation process is expected to be paused until the Supreme Court settles the definition question.The Aravalli range is one of the world’s oldest mountains. It stretches over 700 kilometres from Gujarat to Delhi through Rajasthan and Haryana. The range acts as a natural barrier against desertification, aids groundwater recharge, and supports a diverse ecosystem of flora and fauna in an arid landscape.