'No mining leases': Centre will protect entire Aravalli in major step towards conservation

On Wednesday (Dec 24), the government announced a massive move to protect the Aravalli Range, which was being threatened by mining. In the latest statement, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change mentioned it has "issued directions to the States for a complete ban on the grant of any new mining leases in the Aravallis."

“This prohibition applies uniformly across the entire Aravalli landscape and is intended to preserve the integrity of the range. The directions are aimed at safeguarding the Aravallis as a continuous geological ridge extending from Gujarat to the National Capital Region, and at stopping all unregulated mining activities. Further, the MoEF&CC has also directed Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional areas/zones in the entire Aravallis, where mining should be prohibited, over and above the areas already prohibited for mining by the Centre, based on ecological, geological and landscape-level considerations,”