India, Dec. 22 -- The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has sought to allay concerns over the Supreme Court-backed uniform definition of the Aravalli hills, insisting that the move will not open the ecologically fragile range to fresh mining or construction and is limited strictly to regulating illegal extraction.

Addressing a press conference, environment minister Bhupender Yadav and senior officials said no new mining leases will be issued anywhere in the Aravallis, including areas outside the National Capital Region (NCR), until a scientific management plan is prepared and approved. The existing mining ban in the NCR, Yadav said, remains unchanged. Five districts in Delhi fall within the Aravalli region...