Former CM opens front against the Centre over saving the Aravallis
The Sunday Mail
Jaipur. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has openly launched an attack against the central government’s decisions regarding the Aravalli range.
Gehlot said that the decision to allow new mining in 0.19% of the area is environmentally destructive. Gehlot said that the central government is conspiring to harm Rajasthan’s environment and federal structure by “manipulating figures”. Although, when asked yesterday about weakening the CEC and attempting to change the protected area of Sariska in three days to start mining, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav could not give any answer.
Gehlot said that the Union Minister’s claim that mining will only take place in 0.19% of the area is like throwing dust in the eyes of the public, because it is beyond the capacity of any government to stop the illegal mining that will take place under the guise of legal mining.
1. The game of figures and the reality
The government is claiming that only 0.19% of the total area of 1.44 lakh square km will be used for mining. But the reality is that this 1.44 lakh square km does not consist only of mountains; the government has considered the entire area of 34 districts (which includes cities, villages, fields and plains) as the ‘Aravalli region’.
The actual Aravalli mountain range is not that extensive. Mining will only take place on the mountains. 0.19% sounds small in proportion to the total area of 34 districts, but when implemented on the ground, it will be devastating.
2. The mathematics of destruction: 68,000 acres and thousands of mines
Citing figures, Mr. Gehlot said that the government’s 0.19% means 273.6 square km, which is approximately 68,000 acres of land. If leases are granted for small mines (1 hectare/2.5 acres), then 27,200 mines will be legally allocated in this area.*
The impact of mining is not limited to the mine itself. The construction of roads, dumping yards, crushers, and the resulting dust will devastate millions of acres of fertile land, agriculture, and the entire environment in the surrounding areas.
3. Attack on States’ Rights and the Federal Structure
Mr. Gehlot termed the two amendments made by the central government to the MMDR Act as an attack on the autonomy of the states and a conspiracy to destroy the Aravalli range:
• MMDR Amendment 2021: The central government has snatched away the power of the states by making a rule that if the state government fails to conduct the auction on time, the central government will conduct the auction itself. This is tantamount to forcibly seizing the natural resources of the states. In this situation, even if a state government does not agree to mining in the Aravalli range, the central government can still initiate mining there.
• MMDR Amendment 2023: Under the guise of ‘critical minerals’, the right to auction minerals like lithium, copper, and zinc has been taken away from the states. Minerals like copper and zinc are found deep within the Aravalli range. Now, private companies will be given a free hand to excavate the Aravalli range by granting them ‘exploration licenses’.
Mr. Gehlot said that preparations are being made to destroy the Aravalli range by changing the definition of minor and major minerals and tampering with the boundaries of protected areas.
Limiting the power of the states by amending the MMDR Act, granting mining rights to private companies, weakening the CEC, and creating a model for changing the Sariska Protected Area in just 3 days – all of this has been initiated to destroy the Aravalli range. Our allegation remains that it is not 0.19%, but a conspiracy to destroy 90% of the Aravalli range.
We will not allow the environment of Rajasthan, its agriculture, and the future of future generations to be sacrificed for ‘corporate profits’. The government should clarify whether it wants to save the Aravalli range or sell it off.
