Supreme Court bans 175 mines in Aravalli

The Supreme Court (SC) banned on Friday activity in at least 175 stone mines operating without a valid lease in the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.

The mines had been operating on the pretext that the state government was considering their lease applications.

Lawyer Ranjit Kumar, who is assisting SC in environment-related matters, referred to the state’s affidavit admitting that 747 mining leases were active. He argued that if each lease was for an average 10 hectares, the total mining area in the state would be 7,500 hectares, or 75 sq km.

Kumar said if the mining was not stopped now, it could lead to a devastation of massive magnitude of wider impact on ecology of the entire region.

SC also ordered satellite imaging of the Aravalli ranges spread
over 50,000 km in 15 districts of Rajasthan. It appointed a central empowered committee on environmental matters and asked the Rajasthan government to cooperate with Forest Survey of India in the satellite imaging.