Cong attacks Centre over Aravallis, says ‘destroyers now posing as saviours’

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Modi government over its claims of restoring the Aravalli ecosystem, accusing it of first attempting to weaken environmental safeguards and now projecting itself as a champion of conservation.

The opposition reaction came a day after Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said thousands of hectares in the Aravalli region had been restored in the last two to three years.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the government had earlier tried to redefine the Aravallis in a manner that could have led to further degradation of the sensitive ecological zone.

“Fortunately, the Supreme Court intervened and thwarted these attempts — at least for now,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

He alleged that Yadav, as Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, had initially defended the proposed redefinition and initiated steps to implement it, before being forced to retreat following judicial scrutiny.

“Overnight, he was compelled to change his stance and tried to proclaim victory in the face of defeat. Now he is declaring the Modi government’s intent to launch eco-restoration projects in the Aravallis,” Ramesh said.

“Those who set out to destroy are now managing the optics and posing as saviours,” he added.

Government highlights restoration drive

Yadav had made the remarks while inaugurating the ‘National Conference on Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape: Strengthening the Aravalli Green Wall’ in the national capital.

“The government is committed to the restoration and conservation of the Aravallis and similar ecosystems across the country. Thousands of hectares in the Aravalli region have been restored in the last two to three years, and we will continue this work with ecology at the centre of development,” the minister said.Jairam Ramesh

He said the Aravalli Green Wall Project had been launched as part of India’s commitment under the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

According to Yadav, 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. He said divisional forest officers in 29 Aravalli districts are implementing the project, focusing on plantations of native species suited to arid and semi-arid conditions.

Background of the row

The political sparring follows a controversy triggered in October last year when the environment ministry recommended a change in the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges.

Environmental groups and opposition parties had raised concerns that redefining the Aravallis could dilute protections for one of the world’s oldest mountain systems and open ecologically sensitive areas to development pressures.

The Supreme Court accepted the ministry’s recommendations in November but kept the order in abeyance on 29 December 2025, effectively putting the proposed changes on hold.

The Congress has since maintained that the government’s original push reflected an approach that prioritised development over conservation, and that the present emphasis on restoration represents a reversal driven by judicial intervention rather than policy intent.

With PTI inputs