Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav Sunday called for the protection of the Aravalli hills, following the Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Centre’s definition of the Aravalli hills on November 20. According to this definition, hills in the range with elevations below 100 meters are not subject to mining restrictions.
Extending his support to the ‘Save Aravali’ campaign, Yadav wrote an open letter to residents of Delhi, asking them to stand against “illegal” mining at Aravalli to save Delhi-NCR’s future.
Referring to the Aravalli range as “God given barrier for Delhi-NCR”, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister wrote that saving it is “not an option, but a necessity”, and maintained that “only if the Aravalli range survives will the National Capital Region survive”.
Yadav emphasised the importance of preserving the Aravalli range, noting that it serves as a natural protective barrier for Delhi-NCR. He said the range has the potential to restore the stars that have vanished from Delhi’s skies and to safeguard the environment.
He said the Aravalli mountain range reduces air pollution in Delhi and plays a vital role in rainfall, water conservation, and preserving biodiversity. “Saving the Aravalli range means saving the future of Delhi,” wrote Yadav.
“Otherwise, Delhi’s residents, who are already struggling to take every breath, will never escape the deadly conditions of smog. Today, pollution is having its worst and most dangerous impact on the elderly, the sick, and children in the NCR. Even the world-famous hospitals and medical services sector here have been severely affected—people who used to come to Delhi to get treated for illnesses are no longer coming, lest they fall ill again,” he said.
“If this continues, Delhi will lose its importance as the largest market and economic centre of North India. Forget foreign tourists, even domestic tourists will stop coming here. No major events will be organised in Delhi. No political, educational, academic, social, cultural, or literary conferences will be held,” he said.
“No major sporting events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, or Asian Games will be organised. The hotels, restaurants, taxis, guides, handicraft businesses, and all other economic and social activities here will be on the verge of collapse.”
He then questioned, “When flights are grounded due to pollution, trains are delayed for hours, and road transport becomes unsafe, who will come to Delhi?”
Yadav called on every citizen, school, coaching centre, trader, businessman, shopkeeper, street vendor, and family to join the ‘Save Aravalli’ campaign, stating, “Saving the Aravalli means saving ourselves.”
“If the destruction of the Aravalli region does not stop, the BJP’s conspiracy to legalise illegal mining and its endless greed for land will transform the capital of our country into the ‘pollution capital’ of the world, forcing people to leave Delhi,” he said.