Overview
- Sonia Gandhi called the Centre’s revised Aravalli definition a “death warrant” and pressed for withdrawing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 and Forest Conservation Rules, 2022.
- She argued that excluding hills below 100 metres from mining curbs invites illegal extraction and endangers roughly 90% of the range.
- The Supreme Court on November 20 accepted the Centre’s definition and directed the Environment Ministry to draft a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining that identifies no‑go and restoration‑priority areas.
- The Court’s order bars new mining leases until the management plan is finalised, adding near‑term guardrails as policy disputes intensify.
- Rahul Gandhi echoed the criticism of environmental dilution, as Sonia Gandhi linked the issue to worsening air quality and cited a CGWB finding that 13%–15% of tested Delhi groundwater samples exceed permissible uranium levels.