Civil Society Launches ‘Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan’ To Oppose Supreme Court Verdict On Hill Definition

Jaipur: Civil society groups of Delhi-NCR, South Haryana, and different districts across Rajasthan have launched the 'Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan,' demanding recall of the Supreme Court verdict regarding the definition of the ‘Aravalli Hills and Ranges’ with respect to mining.

Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of People for Aravallis, said, “As a broad coalition consisting of environmentalists, ecologists, community leaders, civil society groups, social activists, researchers, lawyers, and rural and urban people living in the lap of the 4 Aravalli states, we launch the 'Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan' to save one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world from being annihilated by senseless definitions and excessive mining.

She said that this initiative comes in direct response to the Supreme Court's November 20th, 2025, judgment, which, if implemented, will wipe out Northwest India’s barrier against desertification, critical water recharge zone, pollution sink, and wildlife habitat and negatively impact food and water security for millions of people.

Notably, the Supreme Court has accepted the recommendations made by a committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change regarding the definition of the ‘Aravalli Hills and Ranges’ with respect to mining. The new definition treats a landform as part of the Aravalli landscape only if it has at least 100 meters of elevation above the local relief, including the landform’s slopes and adjacent areas.

Ahluwalia said that according to an assessment by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), only 1048 of 12,081 mapped hills in 15 districts of Rajasthan, where 80% of the Aravalli range is situated—just 8.7% of the hills—meet the 100-meter height criteria. This means more than 90% of what was considered as Aravallis earlier, including vast stretches of the ecologically critical low-lying scrub hills, grasslands, and ridges, will now be excluded from protection and opened up for mining. In Haryana and Gujarat, the hills are even smaller and will not meet the 100-meter benchmark.

The Aravallis are home to 200+ native and migratory bird species, 100+ butterfly species, and many reptile, and mammal species, including leopards, tigers, hyenas, jackals, neelgais, porcupines, civet cats, etc. Losing more hills and forests to mining will shrink wildlife habitats and increase man-animal conflict across cities and rural areas in Northwest India.

Environmental activist Kailash Meena said that due to excessive groundwater extraction, the water crisis in Rajasthan and Haryana has already reached a critical state. The Aravallis act as a critical water recharge zone for northwest India and must be saved at all costs to ensure water security in this region.

National President of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Kavita Srivastava said, “The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan demands that the Supreme Court recall its 20th November 2025 judgment accepting the new uniform definition of Aravalli hills and ranges. We also demand that the government scrap the regressive uniform definition of the Aravallis given by a committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and declare the Aravalli as a ‘Critical Ecological Zone.’

She appeals to the citizens to sign the email petition started by jhatkaa.org titled ‘Save India’s Oldest Mountain Range from Death by Definition and Mining,’ addressed to the Supreme Court of India, political leaders, and senior bureaucrats.