New Delhi: Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that the Modi government has displayed a particularly “venal streak of cynicism” in relation to environmental protection and alleged that it has now “nearly signed a death warrant” for the Aravalli hills.
She demanded that the government must withdraw the amendments it “bulldozed” through Parliament in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, as well as the Forest Conservation Rules (2022).
Gandhi said the government’s declaration that any hills in the Aravalli range with an elevation of less than 100 metres are not subject to the strictures against mining is an open invitation for illegal miners and mafias to finish off 90% of the range which falls below the height limit set.
“The Aravalli range, which runs from Gujarat through Rajasthan and till Haryana, has long played a significant role in Indian geography and history. It has served as a barrier to the spread of desertification from the Thar Desert to the Gangetic Plains, guarded Rajasthan’s proudest forts such as Chittorgarh and Ranthambore, and served as the cradle of spirituality for communities across northwest India,” Gandhi said in an article published in The Hindu.
“The Modi Government has now nearly signed a death warrant for these hills, already denuded by illegal mining,” she said.
Gandhi pointed out that on the northernmost end of the Aravalli range, the national capital has embarked on its annual smog season this month.
“A hazy mist of dust, smoke and particulate matter has been settling down on millions of citizens as they go about their daily lives breathing in toxic air. Even as the smog becomes a part of our yearly routine, research increasingly shows that it is a full-scale, slow-motion public health tragedy. Estimates of the human toll of this pollution go as high as 34,000 deaths in just 10 cities annually,” Gandhi said in her article titled “Dismal state of India’s environment”.
Last week the news headlines reflected yet another evolving tragedy when the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reported that 13%-15% of tested groundwater samples in Delhi contain uranium beyond the permissible limit for human consumption, she said.
“Shamefully, water samples from Punjab and Haryana reflect even higher levels of uranium contamination. One does not need to dwell on the frightening health implications that regular consumption of such water for daily activities can have on impacted populations,” the former Congress president said.