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On Sunday, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav outrightly dismissed the rumors regarding the softening of the protection norms for the Aravalli range, saying no one has been given a chance to relax the issue and warning that the situation is being deliberately created to confuse the public on a matter that is already quite long and sensitive in terms of the environment.

The minister spoke at a press conference in Kolkata, and the subject was the Aravalli range, which is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world and stretches over four states namely Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat.

Besides, it includes 39 districts and an area of about 1.44 lakh square kilometers.

“The issue related to the Aravalli range has been to courts since 1985, from the start, the focus has been on strict control, particularly of the mines,” he stated.

Yadav pointed out that the top court has ordered the four states to collectively arrive at one single definition of the Aravalli range in order to eliminate the possibility of different interpretations that may lead to the loosening of regulations.

Some youtube channels and individuals are deliberately giving wrong information by asserting that the 100-metre rule only concerns the upper section of the mountain.

Yadav stated, "This is utterly untrue." While explaining the rule, he let us know that the protection is given by the mountain's basements.

"Even if the foundation is 20 metres under the surface, the 100-metre protection starts from there," he clarified.

Yadav reiterated that the mining activity is completely prohibited in the Aravalli hills of Delhi, and the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.

"We are working with full cooperation with the court. Any assertion that mining has been allowed or is less strict in Delhi's Aravalli area is wrong," he said.

The minister, emphasizing the magnitude of the protection, stated that from the total area of 1.44 lakh sq km of Aravalli only a very small portion of around 0.19 per cent could be mined under current legal frameworks, while the remaining area continues to be completely protected.

"The Aravali is not a place where mining will happen anymore. No more gossip," he said, sending a clear political message at the same time as the dispute was getting more and more heated, as reported by ANI.