What is the story about?
Aravalli Mountain Range: From Gujarat's coastal plains, through Rajasthan's rugged terrain, and Haryana's hills, one of the world's oldest mountain ranges,
the Aravalli Range, ultimately leads up to the iconic Presidential Palace on Raisina Hill in New Delhi, forming a majestic geological spine for the nation. However, a recent Supreme Court ruling redefining what constitutes the "Aravalli hills" has ignited widespread controversy. The ruling aimed to standardise regulations amidst decades of illegal mining, sparking the viral #SaveAravalli campaign on social media. People are expressing concern about increasing desertification, biodiversity loss, and climate impacts in this region.
The Aravalli Range Issue: What it is?
As per the ET, the Aravalli hills are approximately two billion years old, which plays a crucial role in India's ecology. They act as a natural shield against the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert, preventing sand and dust from spreading into Haryana, Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh, and the Delhi-NCR region.
The mountain range has faced serious threats from extensive mining for minerals such as sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, lead, zinc, copper, gold, and tungsten.
According to a TOI report, illegal mining is degrading air quality, lowering groundwater levels, and causing entire hills to disappear. A committee appointed by the Supreme Court in 2018 reported that 31 out of 128 Aravalli hills in Rajasthan had vanished over 50 years due to illegal mining, creating large gaps in the mountain range.
Security efforts have been underway since the early 1990s, when the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) restricted mining to only approved projects.
In 2009, the Supreme Court imposed a complete ban on mining in the Faridabad, Gurugram, and Mewat districts of Haryana.
In June 2025, the central government had launched the Aravalli 'Green Wall' project to restore greenery in a five-kilometre buffer zone across 29 districts.
What the Supreme Court said: The November 2025 ruling
On November 20, 2025, a Supreme Court bench headed by former Chief Justice B.R. Gavai adopted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and mountain ranges, resolving inconsistencies between the states.
According to Live Law, the apex court said that an "Aravalli Hill" is any landform in designated districts rising at least 100 metres above the local relief (measured by the lowest contour line encircling the landform, including hilltops, slopes, foothills, and supporting terrain). An "Aravalli Range" consists of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other, ET reported.
The bench stated, "Only landforms exhibiting a minimum relative relief of 100 metres above the surrounding terrain qualify as Aravalli hills," as quoted by Live Law.
The court has stayed the granting of new mining leases in designated areas of the Aravalli range in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat until expert reports and a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) are prepared. The ruling also added sustainable mining in approved zones but prohibited it in ecologically sensitive, conservation-critical, or restoration-priority areas, except under certain specific circumstances.
The Supreme Court's decision has raised concerns among environmental activists and experts, who have warned that several parts of the ecologically important Aravalli range will no longer be protected, potentially leading to adverse weather conditions and droughts in several areas, including Delhi.
#SaveAravalli Campaign floods X
After the Supreme Court accepted a new government definition that only hills taller than 100 metres will count, the 'SaveAravalli' hashtag has flooded social media with experts and activists calling for protecting the Aravallis. As per the new definition, "Aravali Hill" is any landform in designated Aravali districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravali Range" is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
What are the experts saying?
The Supreme Court's decision has sparked a debate about the existence of one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. Experts have said that adopting the central government's 100-metre definition for the Aravalli hills and allowing sustainable mining is "a death warrant" for Rajasthan's oldest mountain range, according to PTI.
Harjeet Singh, founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, highlighted that labelling only hills that surpass 100 metres as 'Aravalis' "erases the landscape that keeps North India breathing and feeds the wells." "On paper, it’s 'sustainable mining' and 'development', but on the ground, it is dynamite, roads and pits cutting through leopard corridors, village commons and Delhi–NCR’s last green shield," he told PTI.
