Congress seeks resignation of environment minister
Congress seeks resignation of environment minister
M.U.H
30/12/202520
NEW DELHI: Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to stay its November 20 order on the new definition of the Aravalli range, the Congress on Monday sought the resignation of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, saying all his arguments in favour of the redefinition have been rejected.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that in light of the Supreme Court’s latest order, the environment minister must resign immediately. “The SC order is a rejection of all the arguments he has been giving in favour of the redefinition,” he said.
On Sunday, Ramesh wrote to Yadav saying that the government’s move will lead to fragmentation and undermining of the geographical and ecological integrity of the entire mountain range. Posing four specific questions to the government, the Congress leader pointed out that there are widespread concerns regarding the redefinition of the Aravalli hills, which restrict them to landforms with an elevation of 100 metres or more.
“The Indian National Congress welcomes the directives given by the Supreme Court on the redefinition of the Aravallis being pushed through by the Modi government,” Ramesh said.
The order gives a “flicker of hope”, but the struggle to save the Aravallis from the “machinations of the Modi government” to open it up to mining, real estate, and other activities will have to be resisted in a sustained manner, he added. “The issue is now to be studied in greater detail. It needs to be recalled that the redefinition has been opposed by the Forest Survey of India, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, and by the amicus curiae himself,” he said.
The Supreme Court kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict that had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges recommended by a committee of the environment ministry. It also proposed to constitute a high-powered committee comprising domain experts to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue.
The committee had recommended that Aravalli hill be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and the Aravalli range will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
