The Supreme Court’s recent order defining the Aravalli hills and pausing fresh mining leases across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat has brought renewed focus on one of India’s most ecologically fragile yet contested landscapes. The ruling is significant not merely for mining regulation, but for how India balances environmental protection, federal governance and developmental pressures.
Why the Aravalli Range Is Ecologically Crucial
The Aravalli range, nearly two billion years old, is India’s oldest mountain system. Stretching about 650 km from Delhi to Gujarat, it functions as a vital ecological barrier that checks the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert into the Indo-Gangetic plains. By stabilising climate patterns, supporting biodiversity and enabling groundwater recharge, the range plays a foundational role in north-west India’s environmental security.
The hills are the source of major rivers such as the Chambal, Sabarmati and Luni, and support aquifer systems critical for water-scarce regions. Their degradation directly affects air quality, water availability and land productivity across Rajasthan, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
Mining Pressure and Environmental Degradation
The Aravallis are rich in sandstone, limestone, marble, granite and minerals such as zinc, copper and tungsten. While mining has a long history in the region, the last four decades have seen excessive quarrying for stone and sand, much of it illegal. This has accelerated deforestation, groundwater depletion and dust pollution, particularly in the National Capital Region.
The Supreme Court noted that India’s obligations under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification require protection of vulnerable ecosystems like the Aravallis, making unregulated mining incompatible with international commitments.
Judicial Intervention Over the Years
Regulatory attempts date back to the early 1990s, when the Environment Ministry restricted mining to sanctioned projects. Persistent violations led the Supreme Court to impose a blanket mining ban in parts of Haryana — Faridabad, Gurugram and Mewat — in 2009.
In May 2024, the Court prohibited fresh mining leases and renewals across the Aravalli range and asked its Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to conduct a detailed review. The CEC’s recommendations, submitted in March 2024 and accepted by the Court in November 2025, called for scientific mapping, cumulative environmental impact assessments and strict protection of ecologically sensitive zones.
The Aravalli ‘Green Wall’ Initiative
Parallel to judicial action, the Centre launched the Aravalli Green Wall project in June 2025. The initiative aims to expand green cover in a five-km buffer around the range across 29 districts in four States. The government has projected this as a key component of its target to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, linking Aravalli conservation to broader land restoration goals.
Why a Uniform Definition Was Needed
A core issue before the Court was the absence of a consistent definition of the Aravalli hills. States had been using varying criteria, leading to regulatory loopholes. Even expert bodies differed: the Forest Survey of India’s 2010 definition relied on slope, foothill buffers and valley widths, while States often used simpler elevation-based markers.
To resolve this, the Court constituted a committee including the Environment Ministry, FSI, Geological Survey of India, State Forest Departments and the CEC. The committee, which submitted its report in October 2025, recommended defining the Aravallis as hills above 100 metres in height.
Debate Around the 100-Metre Threshold
The 100-metre criterion sparked disagreement. The amicus curiae argued that it could exclude lower hill formations, fragmenting the ecological continuity of the range and opening them up for mining. The Centre countered that slope- and buffer-based definitions might exclude even larger areas, and that the height-based criterion was more inclusive in practice. The Court accepted the committee’s recommendation, prioritising administrative clarity over contested technical parameters.
Sustainable Mining and the Court’s Broader Directions
Instead of imposing a total ban, the Court directed the preparation of a comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM). This plan must:
- Identify zones where mining is absolutely prohibited
- Demarcate areas where limited, tightly regulated mining may be allowed
- Map wildlife corridors, aquifer recharge zones and sensitive habitats
- Assess cumulative ecological impacts and carrying capacity
- Lay out restoration and rehabilitation measures
This approach reflects judicial caution informed by past experience, where blanket bans have often fuelled illegal mining and criminal syndicates.
Why the Court Avoided a Total Ban
The Supreme Court explicitly acknowledged that outright bans can be counterproductive, driving extraction underground and empowering sand mafias. Instead, it opted for a calibrated regulatory framework: existing legal mining continues under strict oversight, new leases remain paused until scientific planning is completed, and ecologically critical zones stay permanently off-limits.
What to Note for Prelims?
- Aravalli range: oldest mountain system in India
- Ecological role in preventing desertification
- Supreme Court ban on fresh mining leases (2024–25)
- Central Empowered Committee (CEC)
- Aravalli Green Wall project
What to Note for Mains?
- Judicial role in environmental governance
- Challenges of regulating mining in ecologically sensitive zones
- Federal issues in defining and managing shared ecosystems
- Balancing sustainable development with environmental protection
- Importance of scientific mapping and cumulative impact assessment
