BJP slams Gehlot's 'Save Aravalli' campaign, assures mining will not expand under new definition
Jaipur (PTI): Senior BJP leader Rajendra Rathore on Sunday rejected former chief minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Union government's report redefining the Arvallis would destroy 90 per cent of the mountain range in the state, and claimed it lays down a stricter framework for its conservation.
The Supreme Court, on November 20, 2025, accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges.
According to the new definition, "Aravalli Hill is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief" and an "Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other".
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However, Rathore noted that the 100-metre criterion is not limited to height alone.
"According to the court-approved definition, all hills of 100 metres or more, their slopes, and terrain within 500 metres between two hills remain outside the mining ambit irrespective of height. This framework is stricter and more scientific than before," he said at a press conference.
Calling Gehlot's claim "completely false and misleading", the former leader of opposition noted that approximately 25 per cent of the Aravalli area falls under wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and reserved forests where mining is completely prohibited.
"Only about 2.56 per cent of the notified Aravalli region is under limited and strictly regulated mining," he said.
Citing the Survey of India analysis, Rathore assured that mining will not expand under the new definition.
He claimed that 98.9 per cent of hilly areas in Rajsamand, 99.89 per cent in Udaipur, 89.4 per cent in Gujarat's Sabarkantha and 75.07 per cent in Haryana's Mahendragarh would remain prohibited for mining, apart from national parks, eco-sensitive zones, reserved and protected forests and wetlands.
Rathore said that Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has also clarified that the Supreme Court order poses no threat to the Aravalli range and the Centre is committed to ensuring its complete protection.
He emphasised that the Supreme Court has clearly directed that no new mining leases can be issued till the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education completes detailed scientific mapping and prepares a sustainable mining management plan.
"In such a situation, speaking of Aravalli's destruction is nothing but an attempt to create fear," he said.
Additionally, Rathore targeted Gehlot's "Save Aravalli" social media campaign launched on December 18, saying that senior Congress leaders, including Govind Singh Dotasra, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Sachin Pilot, did not support it by changing their profile pictures.
"When top party leaders themselves are not standing with this campaign, it is clear this is political posturing, not an environmental movement," he alleged.
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Indian visa application centre suspended indefinitely in Bangladesh's Chattogram
Dhaka (PTI): India on Sunday suspended visa operations at its mission in Bangladeshi port city of Chattogram until further notice, according to media reports.
The move comes in the wake of a fresh wave of unrest witnessed in the country following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
His death triggered attacks and vandalism across Bangladesh, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram on Thursday.
Hadi, a prominent leader of the student-led protests last year that led to the ouster of the prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, was a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections.
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He was shot in the head on December 12 by masked gunmen at an election campaign in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on December 18.
“Due to the recent security incident at Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong (Chattogram) will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) said in a brief statement.
The announcement for reopening the visa centre will be made after reviewing the situation, the statement added. The decision came into effect on Sunday.
There are five IVAC facilities across Bangladesh at Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet. An IVAC official told PTI that the other four offices have remained operational as of Sunday.
India on Thursday resumed operations at its visa application centre in Dhaka, a day after closing it over escalated security concerns, but closed for a brief period two other identical facilities in Rajshahi and Khulna as anti-India protestors tried to march towards the Indian missions there.
On Saturday, security was strengthened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh's Sylhet city.
The enhanced security measures were put in place to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police Saiful Islam was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper on Saturday.
Hadi, 32, was laid to rest on Saturday amid extra-tight security beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University mosque.
Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral prayers, and ahead of the ritual, chanted anti-India slogans like “Delhi or Dhaka - Dhaka, Dhaka” and “brother Hadi’s blood will not be allowed to go in vain.”
Earlier on December 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah and conveyed its strong concern over certain extremist elements announcing plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” it said.
The envoy was apprised of India's strong concerns about the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh, it added.
