Mandar Kulkarni @mandar_lk - Twitter Profile

4 months ago

Three things NGT said in its order dismissing coastal zone regulations-related challenges to the Great Nicobar project: no major coal reefs exist in project site, single-season impact study is valid and corals will be translocated. All plain unscientific https://t.co/h9KeJuHHJ3

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Paul Koshy

@Paul_Koshy

6 months ago

The Aravalli Hills are rich in various minerals and metals, including base metals like copper, zinc, and lead, strategic minerals such as gold and tungsten, and industrial minerals like limestone, marble (famous Makrana marble), sandstone, granite, mica, and gypsum. The region also has potential for critical minerals (tin, lithium, REEs) and contains important deposits of rock phosphate, talc, pyrophyllite, and apatite, with historical mining for copper and zinc (like at Khetri and Zawar). The Supreme Court recently accepted the recommendations by a committee of the Ministry of Environment on the definition of the Aravalli Hill Ranges, which mentioned that hills lower than 100 metres will no longer be recognised as part of the ancient hills. THAT means that 91% of the #Aravallis can now be razed down by the #MiningMafia - which consists of lower ridges (30–80 meters) that are critical for ecological function, potentially exposing them to mining and construction. The new definition is seen as a way to exploit the hills for development, with #AdaniGroup as a beneficiary of such policies. #Aravalli Range is the oldest mountain belt in India. It is at least 1.8 billion years old.! Even older than the Himalayas. In ancient times, it's highest peaks would have been between 6000 to 10000 meters. One of the Aravallis's most crucial roles is acting as a natural ecological barrier between fertile plains and the Thar Desert. For over 2 billion years, these hills have influenced wind patterns, rainfall distribution, and soil retention across western India. Without this "green wall," dust storms and airborne sand from the west are expected to flow directly into the National Capital Region (NCR), worsening #AirQuality. Mining and stone crushing release significant amounts of PM10 and dust, raising pollution levels in the already toxic Delhi-NCR air. The range acts as a giant sponge, allowing rainwater to seep through cracks and recharge groundwater. In areas where mining has occurred, groundwater has dropped significantly, in some cases from 10 meters to 150 meters, with wells in regions like Mahendragarh, Haryana, drying up completely. The Aravallis sustain major rivers like the Chambal, Luni, and Sabarmati, and are critical for the 32 major potable water reservoirs in Rajasthan. The trees and vegetation on the hills filter air and produce oxygen. The loss of forest cover is estimated to raise local temperatures by up to 3 degrees Celsius. The hills provide essential habitats for endangered species, including leopards, honey badgers, hyenas, and various bird species. The cutting of smaller ridges severs these corridors, trapping animals in small, isolated pockets of forest. But, by allowing the Aravalli to be razed to the ground can help the corporates make HUGE PROFITS. This could finance the #BJP party to win every election by buying out the system. The Bhakths can be kept busy with a free hand to lynch, rape, loot, plunder. Then of course the promise of making India a Hindu Rashtra and establishing Ram Rajya.