From launching an online campaign to save the Aravallis to taking on Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been one of the most vocal Congress leaders on the issue. The controversy snowballed as people hit the streets in protest against the new definition of the Aravallis, proposed by the Centre on October 13 and accepted by the Supreme Court on November 20, that effectively excluded almost 90% of the hills from protections against mining and other development activities.
Hours after the court on Monday stayed the November 20 order, citing “public dissent”, Gehlot, in an interview to The Indian Express, targets Yadav and the BJP, accusing them of misleading people, and weighs in on the “Save Aravalli “campaign. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the Supreme Court staying its November 20 order?
We welcome the SC’s decision. We were hopeful and expecting such an order because the jan andolan (mass movement) that began across the country — we had merely called upon people to change their DP (display picture) — but the support from the public which rose above politics … and everyone was involved, from students, the youth, to common citizens, activists, and the opinions by experts that helped create such an environment that the SC took suo moto cognisance.
The Central government and Bhupender Yadav have accused the Congress of spreading misinformation on the issue, with the Union Minister saying that new mining can only be done in 0.19% of the area.
Even if you consider 0.19%, that is still an enormous area where you can have over 27,000 legal mines. Moreover, there would be illegal mining under its cover, which would be much more than this. But if you are bent on destroying the hills, then there is no solution to it.
Merely alleging that the Congress is misleading doesn’t help. I believe that Union Minister Bhupender Yadav himself has a guilty conscience, hence he is levelling such allegations, because in his own district, Alwar, he wanted to start mining in Sariska Tiger Reserve by changing its Protected Area status this June. We have been opposing it, and there is immense anger in the district.
This year, the Rajasthan government prepared a proposal to change (rationalise) the boundaries of Sariska’s Critical Tiger Habitat and the files moved swiftly: the Rajasthan State Wildlife Board passed the proposal on June 24, which was approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on June 25, and the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife approved it on June 26. Formalities were completed within three days so that the SC accepts it, and mining can be started. And people wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office against it … they (the government) don’t realise the implications. We are saying again and again: we don’t want to do politics on the Aravalli issue; they should think beyond (politics), and take decisions after considering the public interest.
If the government and the minister didn’t have vested interests, this wouldn’t have been done, and that is why there is a call seeking his resignation. And it doesn’t suit a Union Minister to mislead people. Five days ago, they issued an order saying that no new mining lease would be given in Aravallis; a message was sent that the decision had been taken in light of the public movement. But this was done to mislead people, stop the movement, and the order was merely compliance with the SC’s November 20 order. There was nothing new.
The BJP says the 100-metre definition was approved during your tenure as CM…
We agree that (in 2003) we considered the opinions of the experts, the SC’s orders, and the circumstances. Delhi wasn’t a gas chamber then and the then state government submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court on February 16, 2010. However, the SC rejected this definition within just three days, on February 19.
Why? Because the SC had a Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which was independent and had high credibility. It used to give its opinion to the SC on such issues and reported only to the court.
What did the incumbent Environment Ministry do? It ended it and replaced it with a committee that reports to the Ministry itself. Who is nominating its members? The ministry. Whom do they submit their report to? The ministry. That committee is merely a formality now, while the earlier committee reported to the SC, it had the public’s trust that it could not be influenced or pressured and would be driven purely by public interest and the interest of the environment. We demand that the committee be created again. Half of the government’s (environment) issues will be resolved then; they shouldn’t make it a question of their reputation.
The Union Minister said the majority of the current mining leases in Rajasthan were given during your tenure. The BJP has also alleged that mining leases were given to your family members.
It was just one hectare that was allotted due to some misunderstanding, while an area was being developed in Jodhpur. As soon as we got to know about it in Assembly, we closed it ourselves. It is all on record. They (BJP) are bringing up my family merely to mislead people.
And mines were allotted during Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s time too (as CM). They must’ve been allotted during every government’s tenure, be it Vasundhara (Raje) ji’s or during ours. What does that have to do with what’s happening now? Why did you go to the Supreme Court and submit an affidavit with the same sentiment after 14 years? We had given one in 2010 that the SC rejected. Your own Forest Survey of India and the amicus curiae opposed it … they (BJP) have been exposed.
Hasn’t the Centre reassured people, saying that it is running the Aravalli Green Wall project? CM Bhajan Lal Sharma said not a single stone in the Aravalli would be damaged.
They indulge in jumlebaazi. The CM doesn’t know the history and context of the Aravalli; he doesn’t go into the background or understand why there is a movement for the Aravallis. What does his comment that ‘not a single hill will be excavated’ mean? Mining is going on; who is stopping it?
Then he said what will changing one’s DP do? Aaj unko maalum parh gya hoga DP badalne se kya hota hai (Today he must have understood what happens by changing DP). When the SC stayed its order, then he must have understood that changing one’s DP means that once the public joins a campaign, it becomes a mass movement and leads to change.
Congress leaders in Rajasthan, be it Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Sachin Pilot or others, led their own campaigns. Was this a missed opportunity for the Congress party to put up a united front?
This is such a big issue that even if 50 people led their own campaigns, it still wouldn’t be enough. Mass movement means a movement by the masses to pressure the government; it was not a Congress movement and the party kept it non-political. So, I don’t consider it (the multiple campaigns) as wrong, be it by NSUI or by Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
Why did this snowball into such a big issue?
The destruction of the Aravallis is connected to the future of the public. The national capital has become a gas chamber and people are suffering; children and adults are falling ill. And the situation is such that governments in the state and the Centre are unable to do anything even if they want to.
Aravalli is a protector. If it’s destroyed, then the environment will be thrown off balance and who will be responsible for it? The coming generations will suffer. The Aravalli is an ancient range and predates the Himalayas. If you destroy it, then the desert may reach Delhi, and we don’t know what kind of situation will develop; it is holding back the desert. Experts and environmentalists have been giving their opinion, the government should understand.
How will the Congress pursue the issue now?
It depends on what the SC decides and how the government approaches it.
Ashok Gehlot welcomed the Supreme Court’s stay on the Aravalli order, saying the public movement forced the judiciary to act. (File Photo) 
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