Centre conspiring to sell Aravallis to benefit mining interests: Gehlot

Ashok Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday accused the Centre of conspiring to "sell" Aravalli Hills under the pretext of its protection, and alleged "institutional capture and attempts to weaken environmental safeguards to benefit mining interests".

Gehlot refuted Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav's claim that mining would be allowed only in 0.19 per cent of the Aravallis, and said this was misleading and far from the truth.

He also questioned the intent of both the Centre and the BJP-led Rajasthan government over attempts made this year to alter the protected status of Sariska.

On November 20, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the new definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges.

According to the new definition, "Aravalli Hill is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief" and an "Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other".

The order has sparked a major controversy, with environment experts and political leaders claiming that the lack of legal protection will lead to destruction of 90 per cent of one of the oldest mountain ranges in the country.

"The BJP is trying to confuse public through selective data. The new 100-metre definition of the Aravallis must be seen alongside other decisions, which indicate a plan to hand over protected areas to the mining mafia," Gehlot said on Monday.

"Union Minister Bhupender Yadav's claim that even after this new decision, fresh mining would be permitted only in 0.19 per cent of the Aravallis is false and misleading," he said.

Gehlot said the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court in 2002 to protect the environment, was weakened through a notification issued on September 5, 2023, by bringing it under the Union environment ministry.

"Earlier, CEC members were appointed with Supreme Court approval. The new arrangement allowed the Centre to appoint members, which renders the committee ineffective," he alleged.

Gehlot pointed out that it was the CEC's independent report that had led to the CBI arrest of former Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy in an illegal mining case in 2011. The same body has now been reduced to merely endorsing government decisions, he said.

Referring to Sariska Tiger Reserve, Gehlot said claims that protected areas would remain unaffected were "incomplete".

He alleged that this year, the Rajasthan government proposed rationalisation of the Critical Tiger Habitat boundary in Sariska, which would benefit over 50 marble and dolomite mines that were shut due to restrictions around the protected area.

He alleged that approvals for the proposal were pushed through in "record time", with the Rajasthan State Wildlife Board clearing it on June 24, the National Tiger Conservation Authority granting approval on June 25, and the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife clearing it on June 26.

Gehlot said the Supreme Court had stayed the decision on August 6 this year, questioning how a process that usually takes months was completed within 48 hours. He claimed that both the Centre and the state government were still attempting to alter the Critical Tiger Habitat boundaries.