Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Rajendra Singh writes to CJI, warns redefinition of Aravalli opens door to fresh mining
CHANDIGARH: Amid concerns over the recent 'redefinition' of the Aravalli, the oldest mountain range in the country and a fragile ecological shield for north India, now the Waterman of India and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Rajendra Singh has written to the Chief Justice of India on it. He warned that the new definition of the Aravalli could open protected areas to fresh mining and development and allow the Thar Desert to advance towards Delhi. In the letter Rajendra Singh wrote, There is no 100-meter hillock along the Delhi-Haryana border. Thus, I believe it may open all those protected areas of the Aravalli for new mining and development and facilitate bringing the Thar desert to Delhi. The Aravalli is not an object; it is an ecosystem of hills with gentle slopes. Winds, the monsoon, groundwater reserves, water harvesting systems, vegetation, forests, wildlife, and all forms of biodiversity together have shaped the Aravalli over millions of years, it added. The letter noted that the geographical significance of the Aravalli is well known to all, and the Supreme Court has acknowledged this significance many times. Even before our origin, the Aravalli has played a role in the formation of the Himalayas, the seas, and the Sahyadri ranges around it. At a time when climate change is afflicting the masses, when the air has become so polluted that even breathing has become difficult, can we even imagine causing any kind of harm to the Aravalli? he asked, asserting that mining and development damaging the range must be rejected. What is needed today is to keep the Aravalli safe and to make it green and flourishing so that we may be protected from natural disasters. Any kind of mining or any activity, including development that harms the Aravalli must be rejected, the letter stated. He concluded that today, there is a need for the same judicial consciousness. Also, in another letter to the Supreme Court by the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants has also expressed deep anguish over its orders, which have set aside the rules and regulations put in place to safeguard the countrys environment and ecology. The letter stated, We write because of our deep anguish concerning certain recent Supreme Court orders which have set aside the rules and regulations put in place to safeguard our countrys environment and ecology. Three recent orders of the Supreme Court have led us to fear that the last bastion meant to uphold the constitutional provisions to protect and conserve our natural world and the right to life of the people of India is crumbling before the onslaught of rich and powerful vested interests, it stated. The letter read, The Aravalli range, most of which is below 100 meters in height, is estimated to be around 670 million years old and acts as a natural barrier slowing the spread of the Thar Desert, stabilising micro-climates, and recharging aquifers. The new definition will potentially exclude from environmental protection over 90 per cent of the Aravalli range, opening it up to mining and construction and practically removing its ability to be a dust barrier for the Delhi-NCR region. It will also actively allow the advance of desertification into Delhi-NCR. The new definition will, additionally, result in habitat loss and fragmentation of wildlife corridors, affecting leopards, hyenas and other animals. It will also result in the degradation of scrub forests and native tree cover that support reptiles, pollinators, and grassland birds. The new definition will, moreover, demolish the role the Aravallis play as an aquifer. The Aravallis have the immense potential of recharging groundwater at approximately 2 million litres per hectare of the landscape. The aquifers are interconnected, and any disturbance or alterations in the pattern can significantly alter the groundwater regime, causing drought in the National Capital Region, an area already reeling under fast-depleting groundwater levels, it stated. The letter noted that the court has ordered a scientific mapping and sustainable mining plan (MPSM) for the Aravallis to be prepared by the MoEFCC. It is dismaying to learn that it is a committee of the MoEFCC that has proposed such an unscientific and destructive definition of the Aravallis, abdicating its mandate of conservation to facilitate mining. The outcome of the court authorising this very same ministry to prepare a sustainable mining plan is predictable: large-scale mining will be taken up with the stamp of approval of the court, giving it finality against litigation. The impact of such mining on the Air Quality Index in Delhi-NCR, a region that is already choking due to lack of breathable air, can only be imagined, it read. Our fervent plea to the Supreme Court is to prioritise the health of its citizens, the letter concluded.
14 C
