Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Jairam Ramesh clash over FSI’s internal report on Aravallis

New Delhi: In a fresh attempt to keep the Aravalli definition issue alive, the Congress on Thursday accused Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav of “suppressing” an internal assessment by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), warning the government on the issue.

Jairam Ramesh, MP and General Secretary in charge of Communications of Congress, escalated a war of words with Yadav on X by responding to the Minister’s denial of the existence of an FSI report.

Ramesh challenged the Minister to ask the “FSI to do a formal study and come out with the elevation chart of the very large number of hills of varying heights that constitute the Aravallis in the 15 districts of Rajasthan”.

The Congress leader, himself a former Minister of State for Environment and Forest, said in a post on Thursday that the Minister continues to mislead the nation on the Aravallis.

“FSI’s internal assessment warned the Ministry. Is such an assessment being denied? ⁠The raw data is very much with FSI,” he said.

Ramesh’s comment came soon after Yadav said on X, “Mr Ramesh, No FSI study has been conducted saying what you are claiming. But I know the reason you are spreading these lies despite FSI issuing a categorical denial.”

The tussle on social media between the Minister and the Congress leader continued in the backdrop of the Ministry on Thursday announcing in a social media post: “MoEFCC has directed States to impose a complete ban on granting any new mining leases across the entire Aravalli Range, stretching from Delhi to Gujarat.”

Ramesh had earlier claimed that the changes in the definition of the Aravalli region may lead to its degradation and open the floodgates for mining and real estate activity in the ecologically sensitive range.

In his message on X on Thursday, Ramesh said, “The Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change continues to mislead and misinform on the Aravallis.”

“1. FSI is now under additional charge of the Ministry’s ADG and will say whatever the Minister wants and is directed to. 2. ⁠FSI’s internal assessment warned the Ministry. Is such an assessment being denied? 3. ⁠The raw data is very much with FSI. So why doesn’t the Minister ask FSI to do a formal study and come out with the elevation chart of the very large number of hills of varying heights that constitute the Aravallis in the 15 districts of Rajasthan?” said Ramesh.

In the backdrop of Congress allegations, the FSI, in a post on X, said, “FSI categorically refutes claims in certain sections of the media that it has carried out any study saying that only 9 per cent Aravalli is above 100 meters.”

IANS