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5d ago

Centre Freezes New Aravalli Mining Leases, Orders Science-Based Plan to Expand No-Go Zones

The freeze follows the Supreme Court’s acceptance of a 100‑metre elevation test that critics say could leave lower ridges exposed.

A drone view of Aravalli hills in Ajmer, Rajasthan. (ANI)
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Short-term financial consideration can’t be allowed to override long-term ecological and societal considerations, which includes management of air pollution and groundwater conservation in the NCR. (HT Archive)
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Overview

  • States have been directed to stop approving any new mining leases across the entire Aravalli landscape from Gujarat to Delhi–NCR.
  • The step implements a November 20 Supreme Court ruling that adopted a 100‑metre elevation test for defining Aravalli hills and froze new leases until a management plan is ready.
  • ICFRE must prepare a science‑based Management Plan for Sustainable Mining, assess cumulative impacts and ecological carrying capacity, and put the draft out for public comment.
  • ICFRE has also been told to identify additional no‑mining zones, while states must enforce stricter oversight and full compliance at operating mines.
  • Critics decry carve‑outs for critical, strategic and atomic minerals and the narrower definition, note no timeline for the plan, and dispute the government’s claim that only about 0.19% could be mined.