The Aravalli Range: Ecological Significance and Recent Developments

The Aravalli Range, extending approximately 700 km from eastern Gujarat to southern Haryana through Rajasthan and Delhi, serves as a crucial ecological feature for large parts of India.

Ecological Services of the Aravalli

• Biodiversity Support: The range supports diverse flora and fauna.
• Water Recharge: It helps in recharging aquifers.
• Climate Moderation: It moderates the velocity of hot winds toward north India.
• Desertification Resistance: It resists the Thar Desert's advance toward the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Supreme Court's Decision and Its Implications

The Supreme Court accepted a Union Environment Ministry panel's recommendation, significantly reducing the recognized area of the Aravalli by 90% in Rajasthan. This decision was based on defining the Aravalli for mining purposes, considering only landforms 100 meters or higher as part of the mountain system.

• Contradiction with FSI Norms: The panel's criteria ignored the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) standards, where only 1,048 of the 12,081 hills, 20 meters or higher, were recognized.
• Call for Sustainable Mining Plan: The environment ministry is tasked with devising a plan for sustainable mining in the declassified area.
• Historical Context: Reports, including the SC’s Central Empowered Committee survey in 2018, indicate the Aravalli has lost a fourth of its hills.

Environmental Concerns and Restoration Efforts

There are fears that redefining the Aravalli may lead to further ecological degradation. The Environment Ministry's diminution of the Aravalli conflicts with its own Aravalli Landscape Restoration Action Plan, formulated in May, which emphasizes protecting the range from "deforestation, mining, grazing, and human encroachment."

Since 2002, Supreme Court rulings have recognized the integrated ecosystem function of the Aravalli's hills, plateaus, plains, and ridges. The 2018 ruling highlighted the importance of hillocks in preventing pollution influx to the national capital.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court's recent decision risks reducing the Aravalli to scattered hills, which conflicts with its record of promoting environmental reform. Protecting this vital ecological "lung" of North India requires continued judicial oversight.