Aravallis are precious, need SC's shield, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court accepted a recommendation by the Union Environment Ministry panel that shrinks the Aravalli area by up to 90% in Rajasthan.
• The panel defined the Aravalli for mining purposes, suggesting only landforms at or above 100 meters elevation should be considered part of the mountain system.
• According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), only 1,048 of the 12,081 Aravalli hills, which are 20 meters or higher, meet the new criteria.
• The Supreme Court has directed the Environment Ministry to develop a plan for sustainable mining in the declassified area.

Detailed Insights:

• The Aravalli range, extending nearly 700 km from Gujarat to Haryana, serves as a crucial green lung, supporting biodiversity, recharging aquifers, and preventing desertification.
• The Aravalli Landscape Restoration Action Plan acknowledges the threats to the range, including deforestation, mining, grazing, and human encroachment, which have compromised the ecology of regions like Gurugram and Alwar.
• The Supreme Court's acceptance of the 100-meter height filter contrasts with its previous rulings that recognized the interconnectedness of all landforms in the Aravalli as a single ecosystem.
• Concerns exist that the new definition could lead to further damage to the Aravalli, which has already lost a quarter of its hills, according to a 2018 survey by the SC’s Central Empowered Committee.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Biodiversity: The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
• Aquifer: An underground layer of rock or sediment that holds groundwater.
• Deforestation: The clearing of forests for other land uses.