Definition of Aravalli hills and ranges: SC keeps in abeyance its November 20 directions
New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict that had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges.
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih proposed to constitute a high-powered committee comprising domain experts to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue.
"We deem it necessary to direct that the recommendations submitted by the committee, together with the findings and directions stipulated by this court in the judgment of November 20, 2025, be kept in abeyance," the bench said while hearing a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues'.
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The top court said there are issues that will require clarification. It issued a notice to the Centre and others in the suo motu matter and posted it for further hearing on January 21.
The top court on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned the grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts' reports are out.
The apex court had accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges to protect the world's oldest mountain system.
The committee had recommended that "Aravalli Hill" be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
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The committee, while defining Aravalli hills, said, "Any landform located in the Aravalli districts, having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief, shall be termed as Aravalli Hills... The entire landform lying within the area enclosed by such lowest contour, whether actual or extended notionally, together with the Hill, its supporting slopes and associated landforms irrespective of their gradient, shall be deemed to constitute part of the Aravalli Hills."
The panel also defined the Aravalli Range and said, "Two or more Aravalli Hills ..., located within a proximity of 500m from each other, measured from the outermost point on the boundary of the lowest contour line on either side, form the Aravalli Range.
"The area between the two Aravalli hills is determined by first creating buffers with a width equal to the minimum distance between the lowest contour lines of both hills ... The entire area of landforms falling between the lowest contour lines of these hills, as explained, along with associated features such as Hills, Hillocks, supporting slopes, etc., shall also be included as part of the Aravalli Range."
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The apex court on November 20 delivered a 29-page judgement in the suo motu matter arising out of the long-running environmental litigation in the T N Godavarman Thirumulpad case.
"We further accept the recommendations with regard to the prohibition of mining in core/inviolate areas with exception as carved out of the ... committee's report," the top court had said.
It had also accepted the recommendations for sustainable mining and the steps to be taken for preventing illegal mining in the Aravali Hills and Ranges.
VIDEO | Delhi: Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari, on the Supreme Court to hear suo motu case on the Aravalli Hills today, says, “We are thankful that judicial intervention has come in… They have to, once and all, give a precedent that this is not gonna happen. I think it's… pic.twitter.com/SRvmByWs8B
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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