"Need to discuss it, it is a serious issue": Congress' Veerappa Moily on Aravalli Mining row

New Delhi [India], December 27 (ANI): Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Saturday stressed the need to discuss the Aravalli Mining row, calling it a "Serious issue", as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is underway.
"These are all unconstitutional steps... We need to discuss it. It is a serious issue," Moily said.
Echoing similar concerns, Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi also questioned the mining move in the Aravalli range.
Singhvi said, "A review should be conducted as soon as possible. I do not consider this to be correct in principle."
Aravalli is among other issues that are likely to be discussed in the CWC Meeting, which is underway at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Indira Bhawan in the national capital.
Meanwhile, in a latest development, environmentalist Neelam Ahluwalia, a member of the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, has demanded that the Supreme Court recall its November 20 order and that the Centre withdraw the newly notified definition of the Aravalli range, warning that it could open vast stretches of the fragile mountain ecosystem to mining activities.
Speaking to ANI, Ahluwalia said the new definition, based on a 100-metre height criterion, was introduced without adequate scientific assessment or public consultation and could expose large parts of the Aravallis across Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat to mining.
"We are asking for this Supreme Court order to be recalled. There is nothing called sustainable mining in a critical mountain ecosystem like the Aravallis. You cannot define an entire range for mining; that is completely unacceptable," she said.
She further added, "This definition must be taken back. It is dangerous to apply a uniform, height-based definition to an ancient and complex mountain ecosystem that directly impacts water, food and climate security for millions of people."
The Supreme Court's acceptance of the Centre's definition of the Aravalli hills and its approval of recommendations for sustainable mining have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties and environmentalists, who allege that the move could benefit mining interests.
Ahluwalia said environmentalists and grassroots organisations have come together under the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan to oppose the ruling.
"The government claims only two per cent of the area will be affected, but no data has been placed in the public domain. There are contradictions even within official statements on the number of Aravalli districts and the area involved," she said.
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". (ANI)