Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday (December 22, 2025) launched a scathing attack on the Central Government, accusing it of hatching a ‘well-planned conspiracy’ to weaken environmental safeguards and pave the way for mining in the ecologically sensitive Aravalli range.
How is the Aravalli range to be protected? | Explained
Mr. Gehlot said the government’s move to redefine the Aravallis with a ‘100-meter’ criterion cannot be seen in isolation. “This is part of a larger design to capture institutions and hand over the Aravallis to the mining mafia,” he alleged.
He pointed to two major decisions that, according to him, expose the Centre’s ‘real agenda’ and called Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s claim that only 0.19% of the Aravallis would be open for mining ‘misleading and factually incorrect’.
District-wise plan to demarcate mining areas in Aravalli Range in the works: Environment Minister
