New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court order on the Aravalli issue and reiterated that the NDA government was committed to saving the hill range. Hours after the three-judge bench of the apex court decided to stay its own order regarding the 100-metre height definition of the Aravallis, the Union Minister took to his X handle and said that the government was committed to the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range.

"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,” he said, hailing the apex court’s decision to review its order and resolve all ambiguities by forming a new expert panel. He added that the government stands committed to extending all assistance sought from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) in the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range.

"As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regards to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases," Bhupender Yadav said further in the post. This comes days after the Centre announced a complete ban on mining in the Aravallis and directed the state governments concerned to impose a complete ban on granting new mining leases across the entire hill range. In its order, the CJI Surya Kant-led bench mulled the constitution of a fresh, high-powered expert committee to holistically assess the recommendations of all earlier panels on the definition of the Aravalli range.

The proposed committee will examine whether regulated mining can be permitted in the 500-metre gaps between hills and, if so, what structural parameters would be required to ensure that ecological continuity is not compromised. The Congress has also welcomed the SC’s directives for redefining the Aravallis and stated that the verdict offers a "flicker of hope" as the 100-metre definition would have opened the sprawling green cover in Delhi and adjoining states to abuse and misuse by mining mafias. "It is a rejection of all the arguments that the Minister has been giving in favour of the redefinition," party leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.