Redefining the Aravalli Range, An Environmental Emergency
World’s oldest mountain range – Aravalli is under threat with a Supreme Court judgment which will weaken the country’s ecosystem
India’s national heritage is not merely limited to palaces and sites of religious significance, but also extends to treasures bestowed by nature—rivers, forests, wildlife, and mountains.
The world’s oldest mountain range is found in India, but for how long remains a question that quite literally holds our breath. After the Supreme Court, on November 20, accepted the Union Environment Ministry’s proposal that only hills with an elevation of at least 100 metres be considered as the Aravalli Hills and Ranges, more than 90% of the 700 km-long mountain range has become vulnerable to mining and industrial exploitation.
Impact on Wildlife
The Aravalli Range is home to thousands of species of flora and fauna, and the growing threat to its landscape has pushed many of these species into the danger zone. Moreover, these hills are responsible for stabilising the environment around major cities such as Delhi NCR, and Jaipur, while also providing a natural cushion against heat and dust. Such a narrow definition of a 2 billion year-old ecosystem, intended to facilitate mining and commercial exploitation, will have serious and irreversible consequences.
According to the Central Ground Water Board (2022), nearly 40% of the region’s traditional water bodies have dried up or are close to vanishing. The Aravallis provide nearly two million litres of groundwater recharge per hectare, and there is no viable alternative to this function. Without it, water bodies across northwest India will continue to disappear. This will directly affect water availability in the region. The loss of wildlife habitats and water bodies will also remove a crucial climate regulator. Industries that depend on this regulation will face increased exposure to extreme weather events. Water scarcity will intensify.
Over time, this will raise the risk of desertification in neighbouring areas, including the NCR. Such ecological damage will also aggravate another major environmental crisis in the country—Delhi NCR’s air pollution. The region’s AQI has recently crossed the 1000 mark.
Huge Compromise with the Livelihood of Rural Communities
Rural communities in the Aravalli region depend heavily on forest areas for their livelihoods. Around seven million rural residents in the Aravalli districts of Rajasthan (Census 2011) now face a serious threat. A petition filed by the ‘People of Aravallis’ and ‘Save Sariska’ calls on the government to scrap the new definition. It also urges the Supreme Court to recall its judgment. The groups warn that the decision risks irreversible damage to northwest India’s only natural barrier against desertification. The petition further demands that the Aravallis be declared a critical ecological zone. This demand is based on the region’s ecological importance.
Urgent Need for a U Turn
The ministry, however, has stated that sustainable and regulated mining will be permitted only after proper mapping, and that restoration efforts will be scaled up. As reassuring as this statement sounds, there is a strong possibility that these efforts may be ineffective, as seen in several earlier programmes launched to reverse deforestation. The vines of crony capitalism have already suffocated the roots of many ecologically sensitive regions and are now about to reach the Aravallis. It is important that the uniform definition be rejected and preventive measures be taken to stymie illegal mining and exploitation of natural resources. This environmental emergency must be addressed urgently to protect the oldest mountain range.
References:
https://thewire.in/environment/the-aravalli-hills-have-a-new-definition-heres-why-this-is-a-problem
