The Congress and the BJP engaged in a war of words over the issue of Aravalli protection on Thursday with the former alleging that the new definition will strip protection for 90% of the hill range, opening it up for mining, real estate and other activities.
Congress leader and party’s communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “There is simply no connection between the PM’s global talk and his local walk when it comes to environmental concerns.” The opposition leader’s post led to a counter from Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who accused Ramesh of “spreading lies” and attacked senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot for “plundering” the Aravalli range.
Ramesh later asked the minister to come out with Forest Survey of India (FSI) data on the differing elevation levels in 15 districts of Rajasthan.
In his X post, Ramesh said, according to the FSI data, only 8.7% of the Aravalli hills that are higher than 20 metres exceed 100 metres. “If we take all Aravalli hills identified by FSI, not even 1% exceeds 100 metres. The FSI believes, and rightly so, that height limits are dubious and all of the Aravallis irrespective of height should be protected,” he said.
“In terms of area, this means that well over 90% of the Aravallis will not be protected by the new redefinition and could well get opened up for mining, real estate and other activities that will further damage an already ravaged ecosystem,” he said.
Under the new definition, an “Aravalli Hill” is a landform with an elevation of at least 100 metres above its local surrounding terrain and an “Aravalli Range” is a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
In a post on his official X account, Yadav denied there was any FSI study, as claimed by Ramesh. Posting pictures of news articles regarding mine lease allocations by Ashok Gehlot during his tenure as Rajasthan chief minister, Yadav said: “I know the reason you are spreading these lies despite FSI issuing a categorical denial. See the pictures of truth attached with my tweet. Maybe your ‘environmentalist hat’ would be credible if you questioned your party colleague Ashok Gehlot about who destroyed the Aravallis.”
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“You and your coterie are rattled because we have issued a total ban on mining in the Aravallis from Gujarat to Delhi. We will not allow you, Mr Gehlot or anyone else in your party to plunder the sacred Aravalli range ever again. Will continue to work for the restoration of what your party has ravaged,” he said.
Ramesh responded with more questions for the minister and alleged that he continued to “mislead” and “misinform” on the Aravallis. “FSI’s internal assessment warned the Ministry. Is such an assessment being denied? The raw data is very much with FSI. So why doesn’t the Minister ask FSI to do a formal study and come out with the elevation chart of the very large number of hills of varying heights that constitute the Aravallis in the 15 districts of Rajasthan?” he said.
The Indian Express had first reported on November 27, based on an internal FSI assessment, that the new Aravalli definition — any landform that is at an elevation of 100m or more above the local relief will be considered as part of Aravalli Hills — left more than 90% of the range out of the Aravalli umbrella and vulnerable to mining and construction with severe environmental ramification.