Aravali Hills

The Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it has no objection with the Central Empowered Committee's proposed 10-member high-powered expert committee which has been tasked to come up with a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges. In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has endorsed the names suggested for the high-powered expert committee comprising in-service and retired bureaucrats associated with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Survey of India, along with academicians. "The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said. The committee is proposed to be headed by Kanchan Devi, the .

The development comes days after the Centre ordered a complete ban on new mining leases across the region

The SC's acceptance of a 100-metre hill rule has alarmed experts who fear it could exclude large parts of the Aravallis from protection, affecting mining limits, forest cover and groundwater security

The Centre has directed states to halt new mining leases in the Aravalli range, citing environmental concerns, days after the Supreme Court defined the hills, leaving low-lying areas unprotected

The Aravallis are the country's natural heritage and have great ecological value, the Congress on Tuesday said, as it wondered why the Modi government was "hell-bent" on redefining the mountain range and for whose benefit. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the recent "clarifications" on the ancient mountain range given by the Environment and Forest Minister raise more questions. "Aravallis are part of our natural heritage and have great ecological value. They need substantial restoration and meaningful protection. Why is the Modi Government hellbent on redefining them? To what end? For whose benefit? "And why are the recommendations of a professional organisation like the Forest Survey of India being deliberately ignored and set aside?" he asked. Ramesh also said, "The very recent 'clarifications' given by the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on the Aravallis issue raise even more questions and doubts." The Congress leader, who

Yadav said the apex court's acceptance of the Centre's definition of the Aravalli hills and its approval of sustainable mining norms marked a major moment for environmental governance

Senior BJP leader Rajendra Rathore on Sunday rejected former chief minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Union government's report redefining the Arvallis would destroy 90 per cent of the mountain range in the state, and claimed it lays down a stricter framework for its conservation. The Supreme Court, on November 20, 2025, accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges. According to the new definition, "Aravalli Hill is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief" and an "Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other". However, Rathore noted that the 100-metre criterion is not limited to height alone. "According to the court-approved definition, all hills of 100 metres or more, their slopes, and terrain within 500 metres between two hills remain outside the mining ambit

Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that since coming to power, the Modi government has displayed a particularly "venal streak of cynicism" in relation to environmental protection, while alleging that it has now "nearly signed a death warrant" for Aravalli hills. She demanded that the government must withdraw the amendments it "bulldozed" through Parliament in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 as well as the Forest Conservation Rules (2022). Gandhi said the government's declaration that any hills in the Aravalli range with an elevation of less than 100 metres are not subject to the strictures against mining is an open invitation for illegal miners and mafias to finish off 90% of the range which falls below the height limit set. "The Aravalli range, which runs from Gujarat through Rajasthan and till Haryana, has long played a significant role in Indian geography and history. It has served as a barrier to the spread of desertification from the

This much is clear from an internal assessment of the Forest Survey of India, which is reported to have stated that more than 90 per cent of the Aravallis falls below 100 metres

The government officials said that when intercepted, these illegal miners pretend that they did not realise entering Haryana and that they have the required permit to quarry stones in Rajasthan

Senior state officials have previously warned that the govt move will help private companies that illegally procured land in Aravalli, and that it should not be allowed

The Patanjali group, better known for its FMCG business, has been picking up disputed real estate in the Aravalli hills through a maze of entities

The yoga guru's companies and associates, bypassing restrictions, have discreetly purchased a large tract of forested, hilly common land in a village in Faridabad, Haryana

Allowing commercial activities is indefensible

On September 11, the top court had termed as "frightening" the illegal constructions in the forest area of Aravalli hills and directed the Haryana government to demolish the unauthorised structures

India needs an urgent rethink on forest cover

The apex court ordered compensation of Rs 5 million each to those whose construction were to be demolished