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Aravalli Hills Situation — Background, History, Supreme Court Decision and Current Status

The Aravalli Hills Situation are not merely another mountain range in India; they are among the world’s oldest fold mountains, extending across the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent. Apart from their geological importance, the Aravallis play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, ensuring water security, regulating climate, and supporting rich biodiversity. In late 2025, a controversial Supreme Court judgment that redefined the Aravalli Hills triggered widespread public debate, protests, political reactions, and expert analysis nationwide. This blog, curated with insights relevant for UPSC aspirants and supported by best IAS coaching, explores the historical background, ecological significance, and recent legal and political developments surrounding the Aravalli Hills and the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Historical and Ecological Significance of the Aravalli Hills

The Aravalli Hills Situation range is estimated to be about 250–300 million years old, making it one of the oldest mountain systems on Earth. Its linear stretch runs roughly 670 kilometers from southwestern Delhi through southern Haryana, across major parts of Rajasthan and extending into eastern Gujarat. Geologically, it represents a complex process of tectonic forces from ancient continental collisions that predate the uplift of the Himalayas.
Navbharat Times

Historically, the Aravalli Hills Situation have played multiple roles in the subcontinent’s human narrative. They formed a natural barrier for ancient kingdoms and empires, influencing migration, warfare and settlement patterns. In Rajasthan, this terrain provided strategic defense advantages and shaped the cultural ethos of Rajput kingdoms facing successive invasions.
Navbharat Times

Ecologically, the Aravalli Hills Situation are far more than geological relics. They act as a green shield for north-western India — moderating winds, reducing dust storms from the Thar Desert, and serving as a crucial groundwater recharge zone. The forests and scrublands of the Aravallis help regulate local climates, support regional biodiversity and underpin the hydrological cycle. They also absorb rainwater, facilitating the replenishment of aquifers that supply potable water to urban and rural populations in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.
Times Now Navbharat

In short, the Aravalli ecosystem provides ecosystem services such as:

Climate moderation and dust storm control

Groundwater recharge and water security

Habitat for flora and fauna

Buffer against desertification — especially important for arid and semi-arid Rajasthan and the expanding National Capital Region (NCR).
The Economic Times

Historical Legal Context and Earlier Supreme Court Action

The environmental and ecological protection of the Aravalli Hills Situation has been an ongoing judicial and administrative concern in India for decades. Long before the recent 2025 developments, the Supreme Court had intervened against uncontrolled mining and environmental degradation.

In one notable case back in 2018, the Supreme Court was alarmed by the disappearance of 31 out of 128 sampled hills in Rajasthan alone due to rampant illegal mining, grazing, encroachment, and lax enforcement. The court chastised the Rajasthan government and ordered a halt to illegal mining activities, reflecting judicial impatience with state inaction.
AajTak

Other interventions over the years sought to curb unregulated extraction of stone, sand and minerals from the fragile hill ecosystem. These judicial directives acknowledged that unregulated mining directly threatens the existence of the hills, groundwater levels, biodiversity and landscape integrity.

Despite these directives, exploitative mining continued in many parts of the Aravalli Hills Situation belt, often under the radar of regulation and sometimes due to conflicting state definitions of what constituted “hills” or “ranges”. This lack of uniform legal clarity on what exactly counts as the Aravalli range created inconsistent protection regimes across states, complicating enforcement efforts.

The November 2025 Supreme Court Decision and New Aravalli Definition

In November 2025, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark judgment concerning the legal definition and protection regime of the Aravalli Hills, based on the recommendation of a committee constituted earlier by the Court and Environment Ministry. The core issue revolved around the lack of a uniform, scientifically grounded definition of the Aravalli Hills and Aravalli Range that could be applied consistently across all four states — Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.
Jagranjosh.com

Key elements of the new Supreme Court-approved definition

According to the criteria adopted by a bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, K.V. Chandran and N.V. Anjaria:

An “Aravalli Hills Situation” is defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts rising 100 meters or more above the local relief (surrounding ground level).

An “Aravalli Range” consists of two or more such hills situated within approximately 500 meters of each other.

Areas occupying the surrounding slopes and foothills of these defined hills are included within the protected zone.

The Court ordered an interim freeze on all new mining leases and renewals until a comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in consultation with scientific bodies like the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).

No-go zones and inviolate areas were to be clearly demarcated and permanently banned for mining and other extractive activities.

The Court also emphasised the use of modern monitoring technologies like drones and night-vision CCTV to curb illegal extraction and encroachment.
Jagranjosh.com

This judicial pronouncement aims to standardise environmental protection across states and balance conservation needs with regulated use of resources.

Why the 100-Meter Criterion Sparked Controversy

While the Supreme Court’s intent was framed around scientific clarity and uniform protection, the specific criterion of “minimum 100 meters elevation above local relief” has become deeply contentious.

Critics, including environmental activists, citizens and political voices, argue that the majority of historically recognised Aravalli hills — especially smaller hillocks and ridges — fail to meet the 100-metre cutoff. Forest Survey of India data has indicated that in Rajasthan alone, more than 90% of hills are less than 100 meters tall, meaning most of them might no longer qualify as ‘Aravalli’ under the new definition.
AajTak

These smaller hills, though modest in height, perform critical ecological functions:

Acting as first-line windbreaks to reduce dust storms advancing from Thar Desert

Supporting groundwater recharge and hydrological continuity

Providing habitat for diverse native vegetation and wildlife
Environmentalists argue that excluding these features from the legal definition threatens the very ecosystem integrity the court sought to protect, potentially leaving vast tracts open to mining, construction and urbanisation once considered protected.
The Economic Times

Opposition leaders, including former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, described the ruling as a “red carpet for illegal mining” and warned of severe ecological damage if smaller hills lose protection.
The New Indian Express

The controversy has resulted in widespread protests and campaigns such as #SaveAravalli which have gained traction on social media and in parts of Rajasthan and Delhi, reflecting public anxiety about long-term environmental degradation.
DNA India

Ecological and Social Concerns Raised by Critics

Environmentalists and scientists have listed several risks associated with the redefinition or its perceived implications:

1. Desertification Risk:
The Aravalli Hills Situation act as a natural buffer slowing the eastward advance of the Thar Desert. Weakened protection of low-lying portions could reduce this buffer’s effectiveness, increasing the risk of desertification creeping into north-western plains and even impacting air quality in NCR.
Times Now Navbharat

2. Groundwater Recharge and Water Security:
Smaller ridges and connected soil complexes are integral to groundwater storage and rainwater percolation. If mining and encroachment expand into previously protected areas, the aquifer recharge capacity could diminish, exacerbating water scarcity in a water-stressed region.
The Economic Times

3. Biodiversity Loss:
Though not tall, many hillocks support unique desert and scrub-forest ecosystems. Exclusion from protections could accelerate habitat loss and fragmentation.
Live Hindustan

4. Urban Encroachment and Pollution:
Cities like Delhi, Gurugram and Jaipur rely on the Aravalli Hills Situation green belt to reduce dust, smog and heat island effects. Any legal loophole perceived to relax restrictions raises concerns over worsening air quality and public health impacts.
The Economic Times

Government and Supreme Court Rebuttals

In response to public outrage, officials including Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarified that the new definition is being misunderstood by some groups and that no new mining will be permitted in core ecological zones, and protections remain strong. The government reiterated that the definition is intended to standardise and strengthen protection, not dilute it, and claimed that the 100-metre measure refers to the overall rise from local relief including slopes, not merely the height of peaks, meaning many areas remain protected.
AajTak

The Supreme Court itself has emphasised that the environmental ministry’s landscape-level plan — the MPSM — must be completed before any fresh mining or lease renewals, effectively maintaining a temporary freeze on new leases across the Aravalli belt.
Jagranjosh.com

Economic vs Ecological Debate

The Aravalli Hills Situation encapsulates a broader tension between economic development — particularly mining and stone quarrying which have provided livelihoods in parts of Rajasthan and Haryana — and ecological sustainability. Historically, mining activities, both legal and illegal, have been blamed for environmental degradation and hill disappearance. The Supreme Court’s 2018 orders, for instance, directly addressed rampant illegal mining threatening hills and water systems.
AajTak

Proponents of the new definition argue that a uniform standard could resolve regulatory ambiguity, enable scientific zonation, and prevent arbitrary denotification of protected land. They also assert that mining should be balanced with strict environmental safeguards and community benefits under the upcoming landscape management framework.

Current Status and Future Outlook

As of December 2025:

The Supreme Court’s uniform definition of Aravalli Hills Situation has been adopted, creating legal clarity but also controversy over its ecological adequacy.
Jagranjosh.com

No fresh mining leases can be issued until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is prepared, mandating comprehensive ecological assessment and zoning.
Jagranjosh.com

Protest movements and political opposition continue in some regions, demanding a review or reassessment of the criteria.
DNA India

Government officials publicly defend the decision, stating that protections will remain and are being effectively enforced.
AajTak

Ecologists and activists emphasize the need for science-based criteria that incorporate slope, vegetation cover, soil stability, and ecological function — not just height — to truly safeguard the range.
AajTak

The next major step in this legal and policy evolution is the finalisation and implementation of the landscape-level management plan, which will outline core protection zones, sustainable mining regimes, restoration programs and enforcement mechanisms.

Conclusion

The Aravalli Hills Situation stand at the crossroads of science, environment, law, policy and public interest. Stretching across four states, they embody not just a geological heritage but a functioning ecological system that supports water security, moderates dust and heat, and sustains biodiversity across a vast region. The Supreme Court’s November 2025 decision aimed to end decades of regulatory ambiguity by standardising the definition of the range and restricting fresh leases, yet it has sparked controversy over how protections are framed.

Critics argue that height-based criteria could weaken protections for many ecologically significant but lower-lying hillocks, potentially exposing them to destructive activities and accelerating environmental degradation. Government and judicial defenders stress that the new framework will strengthen legal clarity and that interim protections are in place until a scientifically robust landscape plan is adopted.

Ultimately, the Aravalli controversy reflects a larger lesson in environmental governance: protecting fragile ecosystems requires not only clear legal frameworks but also deep ecological understanding, public engagement, scientific precision and strong enforcement. As debates continue, the future of the Aravalli Hills — the ancient green shield of north-west India — depends on how these competing priorities are reconciled in policy, law and practice.