Supreme Court Forms Expert Team to Define Aravalli Range and Regulate Mining Activities
The Supreme Court has constituted a multi-disciplinary committee of experts, including environmentalists and scientists, to provide a scientific definition of the Aravalli Range. This move follows public concern over a previous definition that considered only elevations of 100 meters or above as 'Aravalli,' which would have left thousands of hills unprotected from unregulated mining. The court has stayed its earlier judgment to prevent irreversible ecological damage. The expert panel will also create a roadmap for permissible activities and regulated mining within this sensitive and ancient mountain ecosystem.
Key Points
- A previous definition based on a 100-meter threshold would have excluded over 11,000 hills in Rajasthan from environmental protection.
- The new committee will work under the Supreme Court's supervision to ensure ecological safety and define permissible mining.
- Senior advocates argued that mountains are complex tectonic structures that cannot be defined by simple elevation metrics alone.
- Fresh or renewed mining leases in the Aravalli region now require prior permission from the apex court.
Exam Facts
- Total Aravalli hills in Rajasthan estimated at 12,081
- Previous threshold was 100-meter elevation for 1,048 hills
- Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant
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