After Aravalli rollback, Jairam seeks SC action on Sariska mines, green nods

In a post on X, Ramesh described the Supreme Court’s decision to recall its November 20, 2025, order on the Aravallis as “most necessary and welcome”, noting that the earlier verdict had been strongly backed by the Modi government. He said the recall had provided temporary relief, but cautioned that deeper structural concerns remained unresolved.

Ramesh said the first such issue was the proposal by the Rajasthan Government and the Centre to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve to facilitate the reopening of around 57 closed mines. The Supreme Court had stayed the proposal on August 6, 2025. According to Ramesh, the plan should now be rejected outright, as altering Sariska’s boundaries would undermine wildlife protection and set a damaging precedent for other protected areas.

He also raised concern about retrospective environmental approvals. Ramesh referred to the Supreme Court’s November 18 decision to allow a review of its earlier May 16 verdict that had barred such approvals. He said retrospective clearances strike at the foundations of jurisprudence and make a mockery of governance, arguing that projects routinely bypass laws with the confidence that approvals could be secured after work had already begun.

Ramesh also flagged the weakening of the National Green Tribunal, which was set up in October 2010 through an Act of Parliament after consultations with the Supreme Court and with its full backing. He said the NGT’s powers had been steadily diluted over the past decade, and that judicial intervention was now essential to ensure the tribunal could function independently and as mandated by law.

The Congress leader said the Supreme Court’s intervention in the Aravalli case had demonstrated the importance of judicial oversight in environmental governance, and urged the court to extend the same scrutiny to these pending issues to prevent further erosion of environmental protections.