Congress warns Rajasthan govt’s real estate push threatens Aravallis

The Congress on Monday sounded an alarm over the double-engine government in Rajasthan, warning that the push for real estate development, alongside mining activities, threatens to wreak further havoc on the Aravalli ecosystem — already battered and fragile.

Congress general secretary and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh criticised the government’s move, asserting that it blatantly disregards the recommendations of the Forest Survey of India.

In a post on X, Ramesh stated: “As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s latest directives on the Aravallis, here is yet more evidence of how the new definition of the Aravallis will cause further havoc in an already devastated ecosystem. It is not just mining but real estate development being opened up by the double-engine sarkar in New Delhi-Jaipur, against the guidance of experts.”

The Congress has long opposed the redefinition of the Aravalli hills, highlighting that such moves pave the way for unchecked mining, real estate projects, and other commercial encroachments that threaten to erode one of the world’s oldest mountain systems.

The controversy comes as the Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of the matter, with a hearing scheduled on Monday. On 20 November, the apex court had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges, simultaneously banning the grant of fresh mining leases across the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat until expert reports are finalised.

The MoEF&CC committee, whose recommendations were accepted by the Court, had defined an “Aravalli Hill” as any landform in designated districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above the local relief, while an “Aravalli Range” would consist of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.

As the fate of the Aravallis hangs in the balance, environmentalists and political leaders alike stress the urgent need to safeguard the region, warning that unchecked development could irreversibly scar the ancient hills that have stood sentinel over northwestern India for millennia.

With PTI inputs