The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on December 24 announced a blanket ban on granting new mining leases across the entire Aravalli range, calling it a significant step towards conserving one of India’s oldest mountain systems.
The Centre also said it would expand the protected zone in the Aravallis to check illegal and unregulated mining.
In directions issued to state governments, the ministry said the ban would apply across the Aravalli landscape, which stretches from Gujarat to the National Capital Region. The decision, it said, is aimed at preserving the range as a continuous geological formation and protecting its ecological and landscape value.
The ministry has asked the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education to identify additional areas within the Aravallis where mining should be prohibited, beyond the zones already notified by the Centre. These findings will be used to prepare a science-based management plan for sustainable mining in the region, which will be made public for stakeholder consultations. The plan is expected to examine cumulative environmental impact, ecological carrying capacity and conservation needs, while also laying out measures for restoration and rehabilitation.
The Centre has also directed states to strictly enforce environmental safeguards for existing mining operations, in line with Supreme Court orders. Ongoing mining activities, the ministry said, must be regulated with tighter restrictions to ensure compliance with environmental norms and sustainable practices.
Reiterating its commitment to the long-term protection of the Aravalli ecosystem, the government pointed to the range’s role in preventing desertification, conserving biodiversity and recharging groundwater.
The announcement, however, drew criticism from Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who described the move as a “bogus attempt at damage control”. He said the government’s statements were little more than “pious proclamations” and argued that the contentious redefinition of the Aravallis beyond 100 metres remains in place.
Ramesh claimed the redefinition had been rejected by the Forest Survey of India, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee and the court’s amicus curiae. Without rolling it back, he said, the Centre’s claims of protecting the Aravallis lacked credibility and amounted to an attempt to deflect criticism without addressing the core issue.