The Congress on Monday called out Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on his alleged “hypocrisy” after he welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to stay its order accepting a uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges that he had earlier defended.
Yadav had in interviews and media conferences spoken in favour of the apex court’s November 20 order that had accepted an environment ministry panel’s recommendation that the Aravalli Hills be defined as any landform with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and the Aravalli Range as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
The Congress had raised concern over the redefinition, claiming that this would lead to the destruction of the hills by opening them to mining, real estate and other projects.
“I welcome the Supreme Court directions introducing a stay on its order concerning the Aravalli range, and the formation of a new committee to study issues,” Yadav posted on X on Monday after the top court put its order in abeyance.
“We stand committed to extending all assistance sought from MOEFCC (ministry of environment, forest and climate change) in the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range. As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regard to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases,” he said.
Quoting his post, Congress general secretary and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh wrote: “Really Mr Minister? Hypocrisy ki koi sima nahin hai (there is no limit to
hypocrisy).”
Ramesh said the directive gave a “flicker of hope”. “The Indian National Congress welcomes the directives given by the Supreme Court on the redefinition of the Aravallis being pushed through by the (Narendra) Modi government,” Ramesh
posted.
The Congress leader said the court ruling had given temporary respite, but the struggle to save the Aravallis from the “machinations of the Modi government” to open it up for mining, real estate and other activities would have to be resisted in a sustained manner.
He said the Union environment minister must resign immediately in light of the top court’s latest order. “It (the SC order) is a rejection of all the arguments he has been giving in favour of the redefinition,” he said.
Yadav and Ramesh had locked horns on the Aravalli issue, accusing each other of spreading misinformation concerning the ranges that span Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and the Delhi NCR.
Protests were held in several places in Rajasthan and other states against the controversial calculation of the hills.
Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, an environmental organisation, welcomed the top court’s interim ruling, but expressed concern about its proposal to constitute an expert committee to examine the issue.
“Aravallis do not need to be defined. What they need is full protection and conservation,” the organisation said in a statement. It demanded an independent, social and environmental impact study of the entire Aravalli Range to ascertain the damage already done by mining, real estate, encroachments and waste dumping, among
others.