Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav said on Wednesday that mining will not be permitted in the Delhi-NCR region.
“No mining will be allowed in Delhi, Nuh, Faridabad and Gurgaon,” said Yadav while releasing a report on the "Eco-restoration of Aravalli Landscape," prepared by the Sankala Foundation, a non-profit organization.
The report presents a replicable eco-restoration framework that adopts an integrated landscape-based restoration approach to enhance biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the climate resilience of the Aravalli landscape.
“The Aravalli range comprises four tiger reserves and 18 protected areas, with 13 in Rajasthan, three in Haryana, and two in Gujarat. This network plays a critical role in protecting the Aravalli range,” Yadav added. He noted that efforts are underway to safeguard the Aravallis from land degradation while maintaining biodiversity through the Aravalli Green Wall Project (AGWP).
India launched the AGWP in 2023 with a commitment under the UNCCD to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Concerns regarding the conservation of the Aravallis arose after the Supreme Court approved recommendations from a committee headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to redefine the boundaries of the Aravalli range to allow for mining.
This redefinition considers only the areas above 100 metres in elevation, which renders 90% of the Aravalli landscape vulnerable to open-cast mining. Yadav defended the court's order, stating that it would aid conservation efforts.
However, the court's decision contradicted advice from its own Central Empowered Committee, which recommended against the government's proposed changes. Following public outcry across all four states where the Aravallis are located, the Supreme Court agreed to review its earlier ruling.
Tanmay Kumar, Secretary of the MoEFCC, emphasized the importance of community participation in preserving the Aravallis. He also expressed satisfaction with the progress made by the MoEFCC in creating the AGWP.
Under the AGWP, 6.45 million hectares of degraded land in the Aravalli region have been identified, with greening work initiated over 2.7 million hectares across Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Haryana’s Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh also highlighted how the dwindling grasslands and forests in the Aravallis are causing wildlife to encroach on human settlements, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict.
“We are promoting the planting of native trees and rejuvenating water bodies to conserve the Aravallis,” said Singh, who was present during the report's release.