Aravalli mining not driven by strategic mineral but construction demand, says Prof Mahesh Rangarajan: ‘We may be transforming geology’

The Supreme Court had on Monday stayed its own November 20 order that accepted a 100-metre height definition for the Aravalli hills, and decided to form a new expert committee with domain experts to resolve all critical ambiguities, following public outcry.

Responding to a query on the Aravalli issue from the audience, Prof Rangarajan said, “…we are not only transforming the hydrology, the soil cover and the taxa, the living forms, the hydrosphere, we may be transforming the basic geology of ourselves. This is a very profound transformation, obliterating a mountain. It is something you read about in ancient stories as a miracle, it is happening now, but is it a miracle or a tragedy? And here is the nerve of the problem, one person’s miracle is another’s tragedy.”

Elaborating on the complexity of the issue, he said, “There is definitely concern about it (Aravalli mining)… can I go to contrast India with China. You cannot have a great leap forward in India, because there is a very active public debate. Court hearings are (going on), the minister replied with various clarifications on the government’s steps.”

“There are questions raised not only by the Opposition, but by various citizen groups or non-partisan groups…whichever party is in power. More than one party is in power in three of the four states. The Aravallis…are not only in Rajasthan, they are also in Haryana and other adjacent states,” he added.

“..we need to bring in here the question of the livelihoods of people who depend on those resources. They shouldn’t be left out because they are critical to the issue, the small producer, the wage earner, the herder,” he stated.

India an ‘important player’ in global affairs

Prof Rangarajan also highlighted India’s important role in global affairs. “I want to emphasise a little that you can’t look at India abstracted from the rest of the world and we can’t make sense of the world without India playing a role. And I am not saying this because I am an Indian and we are gathered in India. It should be evident, you can’t think of the future of humanity without looking at a sixth of humanity.”

He added that it was extensive awareness in the 1970s that led to the enactment of laws on water, wildlife, and environment in the 1970s and 1980s in India. “An active, engaged citizenry, which has the ability to question on the basis of reason, which can draw on scientific knowledge, has a larger role today to play than ever before… The doubling of tiger numbers. This is a remarkable accomplishment. It doesn’t mean everything is all right. There are myriad problems that continue.”

Global warming ‘more complex’ than past international issues

Prof Rangarajan also spoke about how the issue of global warming was “infinitely more complex” than past global issues like banning of nuclear testing or banning of substances for protection of the ozone layer. He said this was because only a few countries were involved in the previous issues, whereas climate change requires all countries to come together.

“The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty came into effect in 1963. The Montreal Protocol came into effect in 1987. The problem with global warming or global climate change is infinitely more complex. See, there were a few countries which had to act (in the past treaties). And in the case of the Montreal Protocol, there was one major country, one company, one technology. (Climate change) is much more complex because dealing with the biosphere is complex. It has been complex for centuries,” Prof Rangarajan said.

The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty prohibited nuclear testing other than test detonations underground while the Montreal Protocol phased out several groups of chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons that harmed the ozone layer. Both of these treaties are considered to be impactful in the problem they intended to reduce.