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Committed to protecting the Aravalli hills, says Bhupender Yadav

March 10, 2026 7 min read Environment & Ecology Polity & Governance GS Paper 3 (Environment Biodiversity) GS Paper 2 (Judiciary Supreme Court directions)
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What Happened

  • Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated that the government is committed to protecting the Aravalli hills and is considering setting up a High-Powered Committee on the matter, as directed by the Supreme Court.
  • The Supreme Court, in orders dated May 2024 and November-December 2025, directed the constitution of an expert committee to formulate a uniform definition of "Aravalli Hills and Ranges" and assess the ecological impact of regulated activities including mining.
  • The Court's November 2025 order defined Aravalli Hills as any landform in Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more from local relief, and grouped hills within 500 metres proximity as Aravalli Ranges — a definition with significant implications for land use regulation.
  • The Supreme Court subsequently stayed its own November 2025 order after observing that its recommendations had been "misconstrued," and proposed constituting a fresh High-Powered Expert Committee for a more comprehensive review.
  • The committee's mandate would include: identifying areas covered/excluded by the definition; assessing the ecological impact of regulated mining; and evaluating short-term and long-term environmental consequences — with an interim moratorium on new mining leases in the area.

Static Topic Bridges

Aravalli Range: Ecological Significance and Geography

The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, estimated to be approximately 350-750 million years old (Pre-Cambrian era), running 692 km from Palanpur in Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Raisina Hill in Delhi. Unlike the geologically younger Himalayas, the Aravallis are heavily eroded and relatively low (highest peak: Guru Shikhar, 1,722 m in Rajasthan), but their ecological functions are disproportionate to their elevation.

  • The Aravallis form the natural boundary between the Thar Desert (Great Indian Desert) to the west and the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain to the east — they act as a critical barrier against desertification and eastward advance of the desert.
  • The range is a major groundwater recharge zone: it feeds the Banas, Luni, and Sabarmati river systems and recharges aquifers across Rajasthan and Haryana.
  • Aravalli forests support significant biodiversity: leopards, hyenas, porcupines, jackals, and hundreds of bird species. The Delhi Ridge (a northern extension of the Aravallis) is Delhi's only remaining green lung.
  • The range passes through four states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi — each with separate land use regulation and forest administration, creating jurisdictional complexity.
  • Despite ecological importance, large parts of the Aravallis in Haryana and Rajasthan are classified as "gair-mumkin pahar" (barren or unusable land) in revenue records, making them vulnerable to encroachment and mining.

Connection to this news: The definition dispute before the Supreme Court is fundamentally about which tracts of land qualify for forest/hill protection — a broader definition protects more land from mining and construction; a narrower one opens more land to exploitation.

Supreme Court's Role in Aravalli Protection: Key Judgments

The Supreme Court has been the primary driver of Aravalli conservation through PIL jurisdiction, responding to a series of petitions dating to the 1990s. The seminal case is the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India (1995) case (Writ Petition 202/1995) which, though originally about Tamil Nadu's forests, evolved into a broad ongoing framework for forest governance across India, and later encompassed the Aravalli issue through related applications.

  • The Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 prohibits diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes without Central government approval — but its application to Aravalli "forest lands" has been disputed because many Aravalli tracts were never formally notified as forests.
  • The Supreme Court's 2004 order (in the Godavarman case) extended forest protection to all lands recorded as "forest" in any government record regardless of formal notification — which brought some Aravalli tracts under protection.
  • In 2022, the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) — which protected Aravalli lands in Haryana through a colonial-era law — was weakened by state government amendments, sparking fresh Supreme Court intervention.
  • The Court's May 2024 direction to constitute a definitional committee reflected the core problem: there was no single agreed map or definition of what constitutes "Aravalli Hills," allowing state governments and private parties to selectively claim land fell outside the protected zone.
  • The November 2025 Supreme Court order adopted a uniform geographic definition (100m local relief elevation) — but then stayed it in December 2025 pending a new High-Powered Committee review.

Connection to this news: Bhupender Yadav's statement reflects the executive's response to the Supreme Court's direction — the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) must now constitute the High-Powered Committee and provide it with the necessary mandate and resources.

Mining in the Aravallis: Threats and Regulatory Framework

Illegal and legal mining for marble, granite, quartzite, and other stone has been one of the primary threats to the Aravalli ecosystem for decades. Rajasthan's Alwar, Dausa, and Sawai Madhopur districts — along with Haryana's Gurugram and Faridabad districts — have seen extensive quarrying that has denuded hillsides, depleted groundwater, and destroyed wildlife habitat.

  • The Supreme Court's interim moratorium on new mining leases in Aravallis (as part of the 2025 orders) is the most significant restriction imposed in recent years.
  • The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court under the Godavarman case, monitors compliance with forest and mining orders in sensitive areas — including the Aravallis.
  • The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) governs mining leases, but its provisions must be read with environmental clearance requirements under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006.
  • Illegal quarrying — beyond the scope of formal lease areas — is a persistent problem; satellite imagery analysis has repeatedly documented expansion of quarrying into protected zones.
  • Delhi's dependence on Aravalli groundwater recharge makes this an urban water security issue as much as a biodiversity conservation issue.

Connection to this news: The High-Powered Committee's mandate explicitly includes "assessing the ecological impact of regulated mining" — indicating that even legally sanctioned mining activities will be scrutinised, not just illegal encroachments.

Desertification and the Aravalli as a Climatic Barrier

Desertification — the process by which fertile land becomes desert due to drought, deforestation, and inappropriate land use — is a major ecological challenge in western India. The Thar Desert, located west of the Aravallis, is one of the most densely populated arid regions in the world and has historically been expanding eastward. The Aravallis function as the primary natural barrier to this expansion.

  • India has committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030 as part of its National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAPCD), aligned with the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification).
  • Approximately 30% of India's total geographical area (about 96 million hectares) is estimated to be degraded land; Rajasthan alone accounts for a significant portion.
  • Loss of Aravalli forest cover directly accelerates desertification: without the range's trees and soil to intercept dust storms from the Thar, the desert's eastward advance would intensify — threatening Delhi and the NCR with increased dust, heatwaves, and groundwater depletion.
  • The Aravalli Green Wall Project (announced 2021) aims to create a 5-km wide, 1,400-km long green corridor along the Aravallis from Gujarat to Delhi to arrest desertification — analogous to Africa's "Great Green Wall" initiative.

Connection to this news: The government's commitment to Aravalli protection is thus not just about biodiversity — it is about climate resilience, water security, and the ecological future of northern India's most densely populated urban corridor.

Key Facts & Data

  • Aravalli Range length: 692 km (Gujarat to Delhi); age: approximately 350-750 million years old (Pre-Cambrian).
  • Highest peak: Guru Shikhar, Mount Abu, Rajasthan (1,722 m).
  • Supreme Court definition (November 2025, stayed December 2025): Aravalli Hill = landform with elevation ≥100 m above local relief in Aravalli districts; Aravalli Range = hills within 500 m of each other.
  • Four states covered: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi (and NCR).
  • The Supreme Court's May 2024 order directed constitution of an expert committee including Secretaries of Forest from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat; Forest Survey of India; CEC; and Geological Survey of India.
  • Aravalli Green Wall Project: 5-km wide, 1,400-km long green corridor announced 2021.
  • India's desertification commitment: Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 (UNCCD).
  • Interim moratorium on new mining leases in Aravallis imposed by Supreme Court (2025).