No fresh Mining leases or renewals in Aravallis

Context (TH): The Supreme Court stopped the grant of fresh mining leases and renewals in the Aravalli ranges and hills.
The order covers Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat – the four States where the Aravallis reside.
The Forest Survey of India (FSI) report defined the Aravallis to include the hills and a uniform 100-metre-wide buffer zone around the mountain’s downsides.
There is no ban on legal mining activities carried out through valid permits and licences.
The Federation of Associations of Mining in Rajasthan had referred to the “cascading effect” a complete ban on mining would have on the livelihood of labourers.

About the Aravalli Range

Location: They stretch for a distance of about 720 km from Gujarat to Delhi, spanning Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi.
Formation: The Aravallis date back millions of years when a pre-Indian subcontinent collided with the mainland Eurasian Plate.
Age: Carbon dating has shown that copper and other metals mined in the ranges date back to at least the 5th century BC.

The Aravallis of Northwestern India, one of the oldest fold mountains of the world, now form residual mountains with an elevation of 300m to 900m.
Guru Shikhar Peak on Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravalli Range (1,722 m).
It is formed primarily of a folded crust, where two convergent plates move towards each other through a process called orogenic movement.

The mountains are divided into two main ranges—the Sambhar Sirohi Range and the Sambhar Khetri Range in Rajasthan, which extend about 560 km.
The hidden limb of the Aravallis, which extends from Delhi to Haridwar, creates a divide between the drainage of the Ganga and the Indus rivers.

It acts as a natural barrier between the fertile plains in the east and the sandy desert in the west.
Historically, the Aravalli range prevented the Thar desert from encroaching on the Indo-Gangetic plains, acting as a catchment for rivers and plains.

It provides habitat to 300 native plant species, 120 bird species, and many exclusive animals, such as the jackal and mongoose.

It has an impact on the climate of northwest India and beyond.
During monsoons, it acts as a barrier, redirecting monsoon clouds eastwards toward Shimla and Nainital, nurturing the sub-Himalayan rivers and feeding the north Indian plains.
The Aravalli is the only barrier blocking dry winds from Afghanistan and Pakistan from reaching the Gangetic plains. Losing it would invite the arid climate from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the winter months, it protects the fertile alluvial river valleys from the cold, westerly winds from Central Asia.

Aravallis also functions as a groundwater recharge zone for the regions around that absorb rainwater and revive the groundwater level.

This range is considered the “lungs” for the polluted air of Delhi–National Capital Region (NCR).
For Haryana, with the lowest forest cover at about 3.59% of India’s total, the Aravalli range is its primary source, providing the majority of its forest cover (2017 Report).

The Aravalli hills are an ecologically sensitive zone but have for years borne the brunt of quarrying and environmental degradation.
A 2018 report by a SC-appointed Committee found that 25% of the Aravalli range has been lost due to illegal mining in Rajasthan since 1967-68.
The mining has destroyed aquifers and deforested them. Many rivers originating in the Aravalli, such as Banas, Luni, Sahibi, and Sakhi, are now dead.

Mining in the Aravalli region has been banned since 2002 under the SC orders unless expressly permitted by the Union Environment Ministry. However, mining continues illegally.
The green wall is being planned from Porbandar to Panipat, which will help in restoring degraded land through afforestation along the Aravali hill range.

Credit: TOI

Ecologists, residents, and volunteers from iamgurgaon collaborated to create a self-sustaining Aravalli, showcasing a community-driven model for combating degradation.