Supreme Court Pauses Judgment on Aravalli Range Definition and Proposes New Expert Panel
The Supreme Court has put its November 20 decision on hold, which had upheld the government's restrictive definition of the Aravalli Range. This definition limited protection to hills over 100 meters high or clusters within 500 meters of each other. Environmentalists argued this would exclude thousands of hills, leading to unregulated mining and ecological degradation. The Court has now proposed a high-powered committee to conduct a scientific evaluation of the environmental impacts. It emphasized that the definition must ensure the 'ecological integrity' of the range, which acts as a barrier against the Thar desert's expansion and mitigates pollution in cities like Delhi.
Key Points
- The court stayed the implementation of the restrictive definition to prevent irreversible ecological damage during ongoing proceedings.
- A new expert panel will analyze the possibility of adverse consequences from 'sustainable mining' in newly demarcated areas.
- The Aravalli Range is critical as a green barrier against the eastward expansion of the Thar desert and helps mitigate pollution in Delhi.
- The court noted that the current definition might leave lower ranges without environmental protection, creating a 'significant regulatory lacuna.'
- The definition of the Aravalli range must be arrived at only after exhaustive scientific and geological estimations.
Exam Facts
- Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
- The Aravalli Range spans four states: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi.
- Only 1,048 Aravalli hills out of 12,081 in Rajasthan met the 100-metre threshold under the previous definition.
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