The Supreme Court of India has taken cognisance of the ongoing Aravalli controversy amid continued protests — with a hearing set for Monday. Public outrage had erupted earlier this month as the Centre notified a new definition based on a 100-metre height rule introduced by the apex court for identifying the hills. A recent report indicates that an SC panel had also cautioned against renewal of mining leases within the mountainous terrain mere days before the SC order.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant is now scheduled to hear the case on December 29. Environmental groups like the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan asserted that the new standard could allow extensive mining across Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat. This will put the fragile ecosystem and millions of people’s water and climate at risk.
“There is nothing called sustainable mining in a critical mountain ecosystem like the Aravallis. You cannot define the entire range for mining,” activist Neelam Ahulwali told ANI.
She also urged the Supreme Court to recall its earlier order and for the government to withdraw the new definition.
SC panel flags mining approvals
According to an Indian Express report, the Central Empowered Committee within the Supreme Court had first written to the court’s amicus curiae in October. The missive underlined the need to protect and conserve the ecology by sticking to a 3-degree slope benchmark outlined by the Forest Survey of India.
On November 7, the CEC reportedly recommended that the court not process 164 mining lease renewals in Rajasthan until a final, scientifically sound definition of the Aravalli range was approved. As per the CEC, almost all these leases came under areas earlier classified as the Aravalli hills by the FSI. The CEC made this analysis by using satellite data and official mining records to show the potential overlap between the proposed mining areas and protected lands.
Despite these warnings, less than two weeks later, the Supreme Court accepted the 100-meter definition. Concerns were also raised that mining companies could soon be permitted to operate in earlier protected zones.
A senior Rajasthan forest official stated to The Indian Express, “If the 100-meter definition accepted by the SC is implemented now, these mines will fall outside the newly-defined Aravalli.”
The official further added that most current mining leases are below the new 100-meter elevation and would no longer be considered as Aravalli hills, which could effectively open more land for mining.
Call for environmental safeguards
Environmentalists and the CEC have repeatedly highlighted the need for transparent data, public consultation, and scientific assessments before any changes are made. Ahluwali has called for an independent study and an immediate stop to all mining near the forests, water sources, and villages until the concerns are addressed.
“Until an independent assessment is conducted and people are consulted, this order must be recalled and the definition removed,” she told ANI.