Supreme Court gave directions while hearing a plea for uniform definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges in the T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad Case (1995).
Key Highlights of the Judgement
- Uniform Definition: Accepted the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) criteria defining an 'Aravalli Hill' as any landform in designated districts with 100 meter elevation and a 'Range' as hills within 500 meter proximity.
- MPSM: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) will prepare the plan through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).
- MPSM will identify permissible areas for mining, ecologically sensitive, conservation-critical and restoration priority areas where mining shall be strictly prohibited.
- Moratorium: Prohibited new mining leases or renewals across Aravalli range states until MPSM is finalized.
About Aravallis
- Geography: World's oldest fold mountains (Pre-Cambrian), spanning across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana.
- The highest peak is Guru Shikhar on Mount Abu.
- Significance: Acts as a “Green Barrier” checking the eastward spread of the Thar Desert towards the Indo-Gangetic plains and serves as a critical aquifer recharge zone.
- Acts as watershed between the Ganga and Indus Basin and is a catchment area for rivers like Banas, Luni, and Sahibi.
- Great Green Wall of Aravalli, a significant ecological corridor, serves as a vital refuge for Indian leopards and jackals within the region.
- MoEF&CC launched Aravalli Green Wall Project aimed at restoring degraded land, preventing desertification, enhancing green cover and improving ecological health of the Aravali landscape.
