Will provide full support to expert panel: Yadav
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav on Monday welcomed the Supreme Courts decision to stay its order on definition of the Aravalli hills , and said the government stands committed to the protection and restoration of the mountain range. The apex court kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict that 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. 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. We stand committed to extending all assistance sought from MOEFCC in the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range, Yadav said in a post on X. As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regard to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases, he added. The top court on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned the grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts reports are out. The ministrys committee had recommended that Aravalli hill be defined as any landform in 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. Civil society organisations also welcomed the Supreme Courts interim stay. The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan (AVJA), a group of people and environmentalists working to protect the Aravallis across four states, expressed their approval of the stay. In a statement, AVJA raised concerns about the opaque process of expert committees determining what constitutes the Aravalli. Civil society organisations welcome order Civil society organisations also welcomed the interim stay. The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan (AVJA), a group of environmentalists working to protect the Aravalli across four states, expressed their approval. They advocated for a fully participatory, transparent process to study the environmental impacts.
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