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4w ago

Supreme Court Freezes New Aravalli Mining Leases, Orders Scientific Plan for Sustainable Mining

The ruling directs the environment ministry to produce a geo-referenced plan that will decide where any future mining is permissible.

The plan will identify permissible mining zones, priority areas for restoration, and ecologically sensitive regions where mining must be completely banned. (HT archive)
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The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) told the court that varying definitions of the Aravalli hills have led to indiscriminate mining, threatening the sustenance of the ancient fold mountain. (Representative photo)
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Overview

  • The bench accepted a uniform definition: any hill in designated districts with at least 100 metres of elevation from local relief counts as Aravalli, and a range exists when two or more such hills lie within 500 metres.
  • MoEF&CC must prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining through ICFRE using geo-referenced ecological assessments, cumulative-impact and carrying-capacity analysis, and post-mining restoration requirements.
  • No new mining licences can be granted until the plan is finalised, while existing legal operations may continue in strict compliance with the committee’s recommendations.
  • Mining remains prohibited in core or inviolate areas, with narrow exceptions for critical, strategic and atomic minerals.
  • Rajasthan and Delhi supported the expert panel’s approach, Haryana objected to a height-only criterion, and environmental groups warned the 100-metre rule could leave low ridges unprotected.