Jaipur: A group of environmentalists has urged the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered expert committee on the Aravalli range to widen its public consultation process, alleging that the existing mechanism is inadequate and excludes rural communities that depend on the mountain ecosystem.The representation has been submitted by the environmental collective “People for Aravallis” ahead of the committee’s field visits in Rajasthan and the preparation of its report for the Supreme Court. The group has argued that the current consultation process is largely digital and has failed to reach people living across the Aravalli landscape.People for Aravallis member Neelam Aluwalia said the consultation has relied mainly on a Press Information Bureau release, email submissions and a Google Form, leaving out key stakeholders in rural areas. The group contended that many rural residents are either unaware of the consultation process or do not have easy access to digital platforms, preventing them from participating in decisions that could shape the future of the Aravalli ecosystem. It has urged the committee to directly engage with farmers, villagers, mine workers, conservationists and other stakeholders before finalising its recommendations.Legal team member Kirti Bhatia said the environmentalists have sought a fresh public notice inviting suggestions through newspapers and local-language publications, an extension of the existing 21-day deadline for public comments, and in-person consultations across all 64 Aravalli districts spread over Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.The representation also called for wider field visits, oral submissions and public hearings in addition to written representations, consultation with doctors and health experts to assess the health impacts of mining, and additional time from the top court to enable a comprehensive consultation process before the committee submits its report.Meanwhile, the high-powered expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court to inspect the Aravalli region will undertake field visits to selected districts of Rajasthan from Aug 7 to 10.“The committee will visit Kotputli, Neem Ka Thana and the Sariska region on Aug 7, followed by Jaipur and Kishangarh in Ajmer district on Aug 8, and Rajsamand and Udaipur on Aug 9,” a senior official said.Interactions will be held in Sariska on Aug 7, Ajmer on Aug 8 and Udaipur on Aug 10 with district collectors, officials of the forest and mines departments, mining lease holders, environmentalists, NGOs, representatives of mining associations, mining workers, subject experts, villagers and farmers before the panel finalises its recommendations for submission to the Supreme Court.
