New Delhi. The Central Government has completely banned the granting of new mining leases in the Aravalli Hills. This ban to mining lease will be applied uniformly on the entire Aravalli range extending from Delhi to Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In this regard, guidelines have been issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to all the concerned states. Along with this, the Central Government has expressed its commitment for the protection of Aravali and said that the scope of the protected area under it will also be increased.

The Central Government said that the main objective behind not granting new mining licenses is to completely stop illegal and irregular mining taking place in the mountains. With this decision, illegal mining will be curbed, the natural structure of Aravalli will be protected and the damage caused to the environment due to illegal mining will be prevented. The Central Government has directed all the states to make the rules for mining leases distributed for Aravali more stringent and to ensure that mining is monitored.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued instructions to the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify more areas in the entire Aravalli region where mining should be banned. These new areas will be different from the already marked restricted areas. Keeping in mind the local topography, ecology and biodiversity, such areas will be identified so that the protected zone of Aravali can be increased. According to the Central Government, conservation of Aravali is necessary to stop the spread of desert, save biodiversity, maintain groundwater level and provide environmental services to the region.