The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance its own November order that accepted a new definition of the Aravalli Hills, The Hindu reported.
A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices JK Maheshwari and AG Masih ordered that a new committee be set up to conduct a survey and study the hills. It said that clarifications relating to the definition it had approved were necessary, Bar and Bench reported.
The matter will be heard next on January 21.
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter amid concerns that the changed definition of the Aravallis could lead to unregulated mining and severe environmental degradation.
The 700-km Aravalli mountain range stretches diagonally from southwest Gujarat, through Rajasthan, to Delhi and Haryana. Its highest point is Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu, which rises to an elevation of 1,722 metres.
Under the government’s new definition that had been accepted by the Supreme Court in November, an Aravalli hill is any landform that rises at least 100 metres above the surrounding terrain. An Aravalli range is formed by two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other, including the land between them.
However, environmentalists have warned that defining the Aravallis solely by their height could leave many lower, scrub-covered but ecologically important hills vulnerable to mining and construction. Experts say…
Source: Supreme Court keeps in abeyance its own order accepting new Aravallis definition
