Congress attacks Modi govt on Aravalli issue, asks why ‘hell-bent’ on redefining mountain range

The Congress accused the Modi government of undermining the ecological integrity of the Aravallis by redefining the mountain range. Jairam Ramesh questioned the move’s intent, warned of increased mining and real estate pressure, and alleged that expert recommendations were being ignored

New Delhi: The Aravallis are the country’s natural heritage and have great ecological value, the Congress on Tuesday said, as it wondered why the Modi government was “hell-bent” on redefining the mountain range and for whose benefit.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the recent “clarifications” on the ancient mountain range given by the Environment and Forest Minister raise more questions.

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“Aravallis are part of our natural heritage and have great ecological value. They need substantial restoration and meaningful protection. Why is the Modi Government hellbent on redefining them? To what end? For whose benefit? “And why are the recommendations of a professional organisation like the Forest Survey of India being deliberately ignored and set aside?” he asked.

Ramesh also said, “The very recent ‘clarifications’ given by the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on the Aravallis issue raise even more questions and doubts.” The Congress leader, who has been the former Environment Minister, said, the minister says that only 0.19 per cent of the 1.44 lakh sq kms of the Aravallis is presently under mining leases, and this already amounts to 68,000 acres, a vast swath.

“However the 1.44 lakh sq kms figure is deceptive – it spans the entire landmass of the 34 Aravalli districts identified by the Ministry in four states. This is the wrong denominator, since the denominator that should actually be used is the area within these districts, which is actually under the Aravallis.

“If the area under the Aravallis is used as a base, then 0.19% will turn out to be a very huge under-estimate,” he said.

Ramesh claimed that in 15 of the 34 districts for which data is verifiable, the area under the Aravallis is 33 per cent of the entire landmass.

There is no clarity whatsoever about how much of these Aravalli areas will be excluded under the new definition and made available for mining and other developments, he said.

“If local profiles are adopted as a baseline as the Minister is suggesting many 100+ metres high hills will get excluded from protective cover.

“With the revised definition most hilly tracts of the Aravallis in the Delhi NCR will get opened up for real estate development adding to environmental stress,” he said.

The minister, who is leading the move to redefine the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve to allow for mining, overlooks a fundamental concern that fragmentation of what is essentially an interconnected ecosystem will damage its ecological value, he said, adding, such fragmentation elsewhere is already causing havoc.

Yadav on Monday accused the Congress of spreading “misinformation” on the issue of the new definition of the Aravallis and stressed that mining can be carried out legally in only 0.19 per cent of the area of the mountain range.

At a press briefing, he said the Narendra Modi government remains “fully committed” to protecting and restoring the Aravallis.

“The Congress, which allowed rampant illegal mining in Rajasthan during its tenure, is spreading confusion, misinformation and lies about the issue,” the minister alleged.

In November 2025, the Supreme Court accepted a uniform legal definition of what constitutes the Aravalli Hills and Aravalli Range on the recommendation of a committee led by the Environment Ministry.

Under this definition, an “Aravalli Hill” is a landform with an elevation of at least 100 metres above its local surrounding terrain and an “Aravalli Range” is a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.