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25 Dec 2025, 6:30 am

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday claimed that over 90 per cent of the Aravallis will not be protected under the redefinition of the hills and will open them up for mining and other activities.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said there is no connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "global talk and local walk" when it comes to environmental concerns.

He also accused the government of launching a determined assault on ecological balance by weakening environmental protection laws and loosening pollution norms.

Under the new definition, an "Aravalli Hill" is a landform with an elevation of at least 100 metres above its local surrounding terrain and an "Aravalli Range" is a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.

"The Modi Sarkar is now going to protect only those Aravalli hills that are at a height of more than 100 metres. According to the Forest Survey of India's data that is authoritative, only 8.7 per cent of the Aravalli hills exceed 100 metres," Ramesh said.

"This means that over 90 per cent of the Aravallis will NOT be protected by the new redefinition and could well get opened up for mining, real estate and other activities that will further damage an already ravaged ecosystem," the former environment minister said.

"This is yet another example of the Modi Sarkar's determined assault on ecological balance that includes loosening of pollution standards, weakening of environment and forest laws, emasculation of the National Green Tribunal and other institutions of environmental governance," he said.

"There is simple (simply) no connection between the PM's global talk and his local walk when it comes to environmental concerns," the Congress leader said.

After a row over the redefinition of the Aravallis, the Centre on Wednesday issued directions to states for a complete ban on granting new mining leases within the mountain range.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has also directed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education to identify additional areas and zones in the entire Aravallis where mining should be prohibited over and above the areas already prohibited for mining by the Centre.