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Supreme Court set to hear Aravalli Hills matter today after days of protest rocked the nation
The Supreme Court will hear a case regarding the definition of Aravalli hills and ranges, following protests after a uniform definition was accepted.
A little more than a month after a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges was accepted, which fueled protests across states, the Supreme Court will hear the matter on Monday, over which it has taken suo motu cognisance.
A three-judge bench vacation comprising chief justice of India Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Augustine George Masih will be hearing the case that has been titled as ‘In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues’, news agency PTI reported citing the cause list.
What led to the protests?
On November 20, the Supreme Court gave a nod to a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts' reports were out.
Upon recommendations of a committee of MoEF&CC (ministry of environment, forest and climate change), the definition described an ‘Aravalli Hill’ as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief and an ‘Aravalli Range’ as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
The bench also urged for steps to be taken for prevention of illegal mining in the entire area under Aravali Hills and Ranges.
While new mining projects were barred from commencement, the ongoing mining operations in the area were instructed to continue in strict compliance with the recommendations made by the Committee.
Protests
The initial ruling resulted in environment activists and members of the opposition to stage protests as under the new definition, in the Aravalli range area, mining in areas with hills below 100 meters would be allowed.
“We believe this decision could be detrimental to its ecological balance,” PTI reported earlier, quoting a protester.
Huge numbers of protestors that comprised students, lawyers, and social activists held banners across Gurugram, and parts of Rajasthan, that read “Save Aravalli, Save the Future” ,“No Aravalli, No Life” and so on as they expressed concern over the ruling.
The Supreme court took a suo motu cognisance of this issue and is set to hear the matter on Monday.
