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Amid the Aravalli hills row, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday claimed that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is protecting the mining mafia in various states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Cheema further alleged that the BJP is trying to "destroy" the Aravalli Hills, claiming that no orders have been implemented and executed to stop the mining in the region. "BJP is trying to finish the Aravalli Hills. A lot of orders are by the Central Government, but their implementation and execution are not done on the ground. Thousands of people are engaged in mining there. They will have to be stopped. I think this environment will have to be saved. The responsibility of the BJP is to protect the environment of the country. There is a mining mafia there, be it Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, Haryana and the BJP is looking after all of them," Cheema told ANI. Earlier, on Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat regarding the "ban on grant of new Mining leases and strict regulation of ongoing mining activity in the Aravalli Hills in compliance of the Order of Supreme Court in their judgment dated November 20, 2025 in the matter of Writ Petition (Civil) No.202/1995 in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Union of India regarding." The official release by the Ministry stated that the Supreme Court has vide their judgement and directed that no new mining leases shall be granted till the finalisation of the Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli Hills mountain range. Moreover, the Ministry also wrote a letter to the Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) regarding the "Identification of additional Prohibited Areas/Zones for Mining in Aravali's - carrying out Cumulative Impact Assessment and Ecological Carrying Capacity of the entire Aravalli region." Earlier, the Supreme Court accepted the Centre's definition of the Aravalli hills, which states that "any hills in the range with an elevation of less than 100 metres are not subject to the strictures against mining." The apex court also accepted the recommendations for sustainable mining in the Aravalli Hills and the steps to be taken for preventing illegal mining. The Union Environment Ministry has also issued a detailed clarification, stating that no new mining leases will be allowed until a comprehensive study is undertaken, in line with the Supreme Court's November 20 order. The Aravalli range is a 670-kilometre-long mountain range in northwestern India. The highest elevation of the range has been recorded at 1,722 metres. The hill starts near Delhi, passes through Haryana, Rajasthan, and ends in Gujarat. The highest peak of the range is known as Guru Shikhar, in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. The Aravalli range is the oldest fold-mountain belt in India, dating back around 2 billion years. (ANI)
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