Govt clamps down on Aravalli mining, bars new leases till green plan is cleared

Amid mounting concerns over the degradation of the Aravalli hills, the Union Environment Ministry has directed Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat to halt the grant of any new mining leases until a comprehensive Management Plan on Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is finalized, reiterating a binding Supreme Court order issued last month.

In a letter dated December 24, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) reminded the three states of the Supreme Court’s November 20 directions, making it clear that no fresh mining approvals can be issued until the Centre clears the long-awaited sustainable mining framework for the ecologically sensitive Aravalli landscape.

At the same time, the ministry has instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to undertake a landscape-wide assessment of the Aravallis while drafting the MPSM, and to identify all landforms and zones where mining must be outright prohibited.

This exercise, the ministry said, will go beyond areas already classified as off-limits—such as core and inviolate zones, as well as notified hills and ranges—so that additional ecologically critical regions can be conserved and protected.

“Concerned state governments are hereby requested to take necessary action for compliance of the above directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and ensure that no new mining leases shall be granted till the Management Plan on Sustainable Mining is finalised by the MoEF&CC through ICFRE,” the ministry said in its communication to the states.

For mines that are already operational, the government has called for stringent regulation and uncompromising enforcement of environmental safeguards, warning that ongoing mining must strictly conform to the Supreme Court’s mandate. Additional restrictions, it said, must be imposed to ensure environmental protection and adherence to sustainable mining practices.

The renewed push follows the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on November 20, when it approved a uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills, describing them as any landform rising 100 metres or more above the local relief, and defining the hill range as a stretch of 500 metres between two or more hills.

A bench headed by then Chief Justice of India B R Gavai had categorically ordered that no new mining leases be granted until the sustainable mining plan is in place.

The court also laid down the scope of the proposed plan, directing that it must clearly demarcate permissible mining areas, while identifying ecologically sensitive zones, conservation-critical regions and restoration priority areas where mining would be either completely banned or allowed only under exceptional, scientifically justified circumstances.

The Aravalli mining plan, the court said, should be modelled on the framework prepared by ICFRE for iron ore mining in Jharkhand’s Saranda forests — a benchmark exercise balancing mineral extraction with ecological protection.

With the union government now formally invoking top court’s directions, pressure is mounting on the three states to rein in mining activity and align development with the long-term survival of one of India’s oldest and most fragile mountain ecosystems.