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Gehlot refuted Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s claim that mining would be allowed in only 0.19% of the Aravalis, and said it was misleading and far from the truth.
He also questioned the intentions of both the Center and the BJP-led Rajasthan government over efforts made this year to change the protected status of Sariska.
On November 20, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the new definition of Aravalli hills and ranges.
According to the new definition, “Aravalli hills are any landform having a height of 100 meters or more above their local relief in the designated Aravali districts” and “Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 meters of each other”.
The order has sparked a major controversy, with environmental experts and political leaders claiming that the lack of legal protection will lead to the destruction of 90% of the country’s oldest mountain ranges.
“The BJP is trying to mislead the public through selective data. The new 100 meter definition of Aravali should be seen along with other decisions which indicate a plan to hand over protected areas to the mining mafia,” Gehlot said on Monday.
He said, “Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s claim that even after this new decision, new mining will be allowed in only 0.19% of Aravali is false and misleading.”
Gehlot said the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), formed by the Supreme Court in 2002 to protect the environment, was weakened by bringing it under the Union Environment Ministry through a notification issued on September 5, 2023.
“Earlier, CEC members were appointed with the approval of the Supreme Court. The new arrangement allows the Center to appoint members, which makes the committee ineffective,” he alleged.
Gehlot said it was the CEC’s independent report that led to the CBI arrest of former Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy in the illegal mining case in 2011. He said that the same institution is now limited to supporting only government decisions.
Read this also SC’s new Aravalli definition opens loopholes for mining, takes away vast areas of protection: Legal experts
Referring to the Sariska Tiger Reserve, Gehlot said claims that protected areas would remain unaffected were “half-baked”.
He alleged that this year, the Rajasthan government proposed rationalization of the Critical Tiger Habitat boundary in Sariska, which would benefit more than 50 marble and dolomite quarries that were closed due to restrictions around the protected area.
He alleged that the proposal was approved in “record time”, with the Rajasthan State Wildlife Board approving it on June 24, the National Tiger Conservation Authority approving it on June 25, and the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Board approving it on June 26.
Gehlot said the Supreme Court had stayed the decision on August 6 this year and raised questions as to how a process which usually takes months was completed within 48 hours. He claimed that both the Central and State governments are still trying to change the boundaries of the Critical Tiger Habitat.