Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment and Ecology, Topic: Forest Conservation, Issue: Aravali Mountain Range.
Context:
The Union government has introduced a new benchmark to define the Aravalli Hills, replacing the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) slope-based method. This redefinition has major environmental and regulatory implications beyond mining.
Key Takeaways:
| Aravalli Mountain Range: Geographic and Ecological Significance: The Aravalli Mountain Range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world, estimated to be nearly two billion years old. Stretching over 650 km from Delhi to Gujarat, the range passes through Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, forming a critical ecological spine in north-western India. Ecologically, the Aravalli’s act as a natural barrier against desertification, preventing the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert into the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains. They play a vital role in climate regulation, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity conservation. Several important rivers, such as the Chambal, Sabarmati, and Luni, originate from or are supported by the Aravalli system. The region is rich in minerals like limestone, marble, sandstone, copper, zinc, and tungsten, which have historically made it a mining hub. However, excessive quarrying over recent decades has severely degraded forests, reduced groundwater levels, and worsened air quality, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR). |
Protected Areas:
- Designated Areas: Parts of the Aravallis are protected as tiger reserves, national parks, sanctuaries, eco-sensitive zones, wetlands, and compensatory afforestation areas.
- These areas are generally off-limits for mining and development unless specifically permitted under relevant wildlife and forest acts.
- Limitations: Even these protections are not always permanent. There have been instances where the government attempted to “rationalize” the boundaries of protected areas like the Sariska tiger reserve, potentially allowing mining in previously restricted areas.
Excluded Areas:
- New Parameters: The new definition excludes large tracts of land previously identified as part of the Aravalli range under the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) 3-degree slope formula.
- This formula counted areas above the minimum elevation of an Aravalli state (e.g., 115m in Rajasthan) with a slope of at least 3 degrees as Aravalli.
- District Exclusions: Several districts across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi have been dropped from the list of Aravalli districts submitted by the Environment Ministry to the Supreme Court.
- Examples include Sawai Madhopur and Chhitorgarh in Rajasthan.
- Overstated Extent: The environment minister claimed that mining areas make up only 0.19% of the Aravalli’s “1.44 lakh sq km span.”
- However, this figure is overstated, as it covers almost the entire landmass of all 34 Aravalli districts on the ministry’s list.
- Significant Exclusion: The 100-meter definition would exclude 99.12% (1,17,527 sq km) of the 1,18,575 sq km of Aravalli hills identified by the FSI in 15 districts of Rajasthan.
Conclusion:
The revised definition of the Aravalli range reduces the area under environmental protection, potentially exposing sensitive regions to development. Using local elevation profiles instead of a uniform baseline excludes many genuine hill tracts. This exclusion-oriented approach raises concerns about the long-term ecological health of the Aravallis.
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