If demography can be a dividend, geography certainly decides its fate. Few landscapes illustrate this more clearly than the Aravalli Range, an ancient range of hills that quietly shapes water security, climate and life in western and north-western India.The hills, stretching about 690 km from Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Delhi, form the subcontinent’s oldest fold mountain system, which have become the focus of a long-running environmental and legal debate.At the heart of the issue is a simple but emotional question. What is actually considered to be the Aravali mountain range? The answer is important because this classification determines which areas can be mined, built upon, or protected.A recent judgment of the Supreme Court has accepted the “standard definition” proposed by the Central Government to identify what qualifies as the Aravalli Hills. Although the move was intended to bring clarity to long-standing disputes, the limited ecological lens of the definition has raised new concerns about environmental protection and sustainable development.Why the controversy?In November, the Supreme Court agreed with a proposal by the central government on how the Aravalli Hills should be officially identified. The court said that only those hills which rise at least 100 meters above the surrounding land, or groups of such hills which are situated close to each other, will be considered part of the Aravalli range for regulatory purposes.
What decision did SC take on Aravalli?
The court also asked the Central government to carefully map the area and prepare a clear plan for its management. The plan would include rules on where mining can take place and how it should be regulated. It aims to remove confusion caused by different government records and maps, which has often led to disputes and court cases in the past.Why do Aravali matter?Environmental experts say that the importance of the Aravalli hills lies not in how high they are, but in what they do. Hills act like a natural water storage system, their rock structure allows rainwater to slowly seep underground and replenish aquifers. These aquifers supply water to many towns of Rajasthan and big cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad and Alwar. Studies also show that large-scale mining and hill cutting harms this process, leading to long-term loss of groundwater.The Aravalis also help slow the spread of the Thar Desert towards eastern India. Scientists have warned that if the hills continue to be damaged, desertification could increase, as well as dust storms and extreme heat in the Indo-Gangetic plains.Although the region is arid, the Aravalli Hills support forests, shrubs and grasslands. These habitats are home to wildlife such as leopard, hyena, nilgai and many bird species. Conservationists say these ecosystems are fragile and can be easily broken by mining and construction.History of legal disputesThe current controversy is mainly rooted in decades of judicial investigation. Since the 1980s, courts have repeatedly intervened to stop unregulated mining in the Aravalli belt, especially in Rajasthan and Haryana. Several Supreme Court orders in the 1990s and early 2000s prohibited mining in notified forest areas, citing environmental degradation, air pollution and public health risks. However, enforcement remained weak due to the lack of a universally accepted definition of what constitutes the Aravalli Range. Mining operators and developers often argue that some hills or plateaus do not legally qualify as Aravali, even though they are ecologically linked to the system. This ambiguity reportedly created administrative paralysis and prolonged litigation, forcing the Center to seek a standardized definition.Reasoning behind the new definitionGovernment officials and legal experts defending the Supreme Court decision argue that the elevation-based criteria brings clarity to a highly subjective domain. He says that by setting measurable limits, officials can avoid arbitrary decisions and reduce disputes over land classification.The apex court in its remarks acknowledged the need to balance environmental protection with economic realities. Mining of stone and minerals in the Aravalli region supports livelihoods and supplies essential materials for construction and infrastructure. The Supreme Court said that if a complete ban is not supported by clear scientific and legal parameters, it could have serious economic consequences.Why criticism?The decision has been criticized by environmentalists, hydrologists and civil society groups, who believe the 100-metre limit oversimplifies a complex landscape like the Aravalis.They point out that many ecologically important features of the Aravalli system, including recharge zones, wildlife corridors and lowland areas, do not meet the altitude criteria but are important for the ecological function of the range. Critics say excluding these areas from automatic protection could open the door to expanded mining and construction.Experts also warn that mining impacts are cumulative, as even shallow or small-scale mining can permanently alter drainage patterns and soil stability, resulting in a reduced ability of the land to absorb rainfall. In arid and semi-arid regions, such damage is often irreversible.
Aravali experts
Once this order is implemented in full force, which is for mining purposes, environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said, “Tomorrow this area could become real estate or other things, which is also the main fear of the local people of the entire area.”Disagreeing with the new definition of Aravalli, Jha said, “A mountain is not just a piece of rock gathered together.” Aravali, which is the oldest mountain range in the world, is also an ecosystem.” He said, ”If mining is allowed… Aravali, which is above the ground, is also below the ground. So it is not just the tree cover, the green cover, or the national dust shield or the weather shield that it provides, but at the end of the day, the temperature and the air quality is maintained between the Thar and Delhi because of the shield of the Aravalis.,Highlighting the risk posed by the new definition of “security removal”, he said, the risk is that all this will do is lead to massive looting of the sector and not just from mining, but also from other sectors like real estate.“Once we start calling it forest and not range and it comes under semi-urban landscape or rural landscape rather than protected landscape, it will be open to any kind of exploitation through economic-commercial activity,” he told TOI.
Why is Aravali in danger?
On the impact on the Delhi-NCR region, which witnesses health hazards from toxic air every year, Jha said, “First of all, desertification increases when we compromise with the buffer we have. Secondly, when dust increases, PM10 levels in Delhi-NCR worsen and hence the risk or severity of air quality increases. The entire area of Aravali is also the main water recharge table, hence due to mining the water sufficiency of the area has also been questioned.,the way forwardThe Supreme Court’s direction to conduct scientific mapping is now being seen as an important next step. Environmental lawyers say the outcome will depend on how comprehensively the mapping exercise incorporates hydrology, biodiversity and geomorphology, rather than just focusing on elevation. Transparency will also be important.Civil society groups have demanded that the maps and management plans be made public and that independent scientific reviews be conducted. They argue that without such safeguards, the process risks becoming a procedural formality rather than a tool for genuine protection.At its core, the Aravalli debate reflects a broader challenge in India’s environmental governance. How to reconcile development pressures with the protection of natural systems that do not conform to administrative boundaries or numerical limits.As climate tensions deepen and water scarcity increases in northwest India, the fate of the Aravalli range has implications far beyond the hills. Whether the Supreme Court’s attempt at regulatory clarity strengthens or weakens environmental protection will depend on how the judgment is implemented on the ground, which ultimately remains at the mercy of the bureaucracy.For now, India’s oldest mountain range stands at a crossroads, its fate being debated and defined by modern institutions that are merely a moment in time compared to the ancient geology they now seek to regulate.
