Congress Accuses Centre Of Misleading Public On Aravalli Redefinition

The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of misleading the public over changes to how the Aravalli hills are defined, questioning why the Modi government was pushing what it called a “fatally flawed redefinition” of one of India’s most ecologically sensitive regions.

According to PTI, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh raised the issue in a post on X, alleging that the revised definition being adopted by the government had been opposed by key statutory and judicial bodies, including the Forest Survey of India, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court and the apex court’s amicus curiae.

Under the new framework, an “Aravalli Hill” is defined as a landform rising at least 100 metres above its local surrounding terrain, while an “Aravalli Range” refers to a group of two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other, PTI reported.

Environmental critics have argued that this threshold excludes several ecologically significant parts of the Aravalli system. They point out that low ridges, slopes, foothills and recharge zones may not meet the 100-metre criterion but play a crucial role in groundwater recharge, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and soil stability, according to PTI.

The Centre, however, has rejected claims that the revised definition dilutes environmental protection. It has maintained that more than 90 per cent of the Aravalli region continues to remain protected and that the new definition does not ease restrictions on mining activities.

“It is by now abundantly clear that the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change is being economical with the truth on the Aravallis issue and is misleading the public,” Ramesh said in his post.

“The redefinition of the Aravallis that the Modi Government is adopting has been clearly and compellingly OPPOSED by (i) Forest Survey of India; (ii) the Central Empowered Committee first set up by the Supreme Court in May 2002 and reconstituted in Dec 2023 to advise it on environment and forest matters; and (iii) the Supreme Court's own amicus curiae (friend of the court),” the former environment minister added.

Ramesh also questioned why the government was proceeding with what he described as a “fatally flawed” redefinition of the Aravallis, PTI reported.

Earlier, the Congress had said it was unclear why the Modi government was “hell-bent” on redefining the mountain range and asked who stood to benefit from the move. The party reiterated that the Aravallis constitute a natural heritage site with significant ecological value, according to PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)