THE PROPOSAL: The Haryana government has proposed a new definition for the Aravalli hills using criteria of geological age and height of the feature, which, once notified, could significantly narrow the landscapes that qualify for legal conservation. The lifting of protection for vast swathes of the Aravallis could favour real estate and mining interests, and have dangerous consequences for the region’s ecology, according to conservationists fighting to save one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. NEW DEFINITION: Mines & Geology Department of the state has written to the Environment and Forests Department that only hills and ranges of the Aravalli Supergroup and Delhi Supergroup, which originated during the Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic Eras, and which rise higher than 100 metres above the surrounding terrain, may be defined as ‘Aravalli Hills and Ranges’. The Palaeoproterozoic Era spans from 2.5 to 1.6 billion years ago (gigaannum or Ga) and the Mesoproterozoic from 1.7-1 Ga. The proposed definition excludes all rocks and hills of the more recent Neoproterozoic Era (about 1 billion to 540 million years ago), and isolated landforms that are less than 100 metres tall, regardless of their environmental importance. POTENTIAL IMPACT: According to M D Sinha, a former Conservator of Forests (South Haryana), the 100-metre relief criterion will potentially erase most of the Gurgaon and Faridabad Aravallis from official maps, and deny these areas protections mandated by the Supreme Court. Since these areas mostly feature scrub hills and grasslands with only small patches of dense forest, almost all of the current ‘Aravalli hills’ outside of notified forest law zones could in effect be opened up for commercial real estate and mining, Sinha said. RATIONALE, CRITICISM: According to the Mines & Geology Department, the definition conforms to the Geological Survey of India’s classification of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges, which includes only ancient, linear, continuous ranges composed of Aravalli Supergroup (Palaeoproterozoic) or Delhi Supergroup (Mesoproterozoic) rocks. According to the Department, inclusion of rocks from other eras would dilute the geological identity of the Aravalli-Delhi fold belt. The 100-metre height criterion has been taken from Rajasthan’s existing policy, it says. Sinha, however, argued that this rationale is flawed, since the age and height of hills have no bearing on their ecological function – and many of India’s oldest mountain systems, including large portions of the Eastern Ghats, would fail the test of being continuous as they are ravaged by weather over time. The Aravalli hills, even though they are scrubby and low, help conserve biodiversity, retain water, trap heat, and regulate climate for the wider Delhi-NCR area, Sinha said. Losing them will worsen dust pollution, water scarcity, and extreme weather, and impact millions of people in Delhi and adjoining regions, he said. “Only a handful of powerful landowners and companies would benefit from unlocking real estate value on unprotected hills.” Sinha said.
