Supreme court empowers states to halt mining in Aravali Range

The Supreme Court initially suggested that if the State of Rajasthan perceives the mining activities in the Aravali Range as environmentally harmful, it has the authority to halt these activities.

The Supreme Court stats, “We, prima facie, feel that if the State is of the view that the mining activities in the Aravali Range are also detrimental to the environmental interest, nothing stops the State Government from preventing mining activities in the Aravalli Range.”

Court directs govt to review mining

The Division Bench of Justices B.R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta made these observations while hearing applications about the renewal and continuance of the mining operations. Accordingly, the Court directed the State Government to consider these applications following the law.

The Court also perused a report that the Central Empowered Committee, constituted by the Court to monitor environmental issues, prepared. The Court determined that the applicant(s)' mining lease does not fall in the Aravali Hills and found no evidence of illegal mining.

The order stated, 'Mr. K. Parameshwaran, learned Amicus Curiae states that in regard to mining activities in Aravali Hills and Ranges, it will serve the larger public interest if the CEC examines all these issues and this court issues a comprehensive direction in that regard.'

Court orders unified review of issues

Before parting, the Court noted that these issues involved in Haryana and Rajasthan are common. Therefore, considering that another Bench is reviewing the applications regarding mining in the State of Haryana, the Court ordered the Registrar to obtain an order and present the matter to the same bench.

"We hold the view that the issues regarding mining in the Aravali Hills and Ranges are common for both the States. Consequently, we believe it would be appropriate for the same Bench of this Court to hear and decide these matters to avoid any conflicting orders. We therefore direct the Registrar (Judicial) to present these matters to the Honorable Chief Justice of India to obtain the appropriate orders and subsequently present them to the Bench as directed by the Honorable Chief Justice of India."

Interestingly, the present application tags onto a landmark case as its main matter. T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad, also known as “the green man,” for his conservation litigation efforts, filed this case in 1995.

He filed this writ petition to protect the Nilgiris forest land from deforestation by illegal timber operations. The Court issued detailed directions for the sustainable use of forests, and also established its own monitoring and implementation system through regional and state-level communities.

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