| The Aravallis: Protected in Spirit, Vulnerable in Law | | | SHAHID AHMED HAKLA POONCHI
India’s oldest mountain range does not collapse overnight. It erodes quietly—first in maps, then in laws, and finally on the ground.
For more than two billion years, the Aravalli Range has stood across western and north-western India, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations, empires and cities. Long before policy documents, courtrooms or mining leases existed, these ancient hills shaped climate, guided water, held the soil together and shielded the land from the relentless march of the Thar Desert. Today, the Aravallis find themselves fighting for survival—not against nature, but against human interpretation of law.
Stretching from Gujarat through Rajasthan to Haryana and Delhi, the Aravallis are among the oldest mountain systems in the world. Unlike the towering Himalayas, they are low, weathered and fragile. Yet their importance has never been measured by height. Their value lies in function—and that function is now under serious threat.
A Range That Holds More Than Rocks
The Aravallis perform several critical ecological roles. They act as a natural barrier against desertification, slowing down dust storms and preventing the Thar Desert from expanding eastward. Their fractured rocks help recharge groundwater, feeding wells, lakes and rivers across Rajasthan, Haryana and parts of Delhi. The hills also moderate local temperatures, influence rainfall patterns and support diverse plant and animal life in an otherwise semi-arid region.
For Delhi-NCR in particular, the Aravallis serve as a natural air filter, trapping dust and pollutants. Environmental experts have repeatedly warned that weakening this barrier would worsen air quality, intensify heatwaves and deepen water scarcity—concerns that are already visible on the ground.
When Ecology Turns Into a Health Emergency
The degradation of the Aravallis is no longer just an environmental concern; it has become a public health issue. Extensive mining releases fine particulate dust into the air, contributing to respiratory illnesses, asthma and long-term lung damage, particularly among children and the elderly. The loss of green cover increases surface temperatures, worsening heat stress during already brutal north Indian summers. Declining groundwater levels force communities to rely on unsafe water sources, raising the risk of water-borne diseases.
What disappears with every blasted hill is not just stone, but a layer of protection for human life.
Mining and the Long Battle for Protection
Mining in the Aravalli region is not new. Stone, marble, quartz and limestone extraction have supported local economies for decades. But what began as regulated activity gradually slid into over-exploitation and illegal mining, leaving deep scars on the landscape. Entire hills were flattened, forests cleared and water tables pushed dangerously low.
Over the years, courts repeatedly stepped in to curb mining excesses. The Supreme Court, recognising the ecological fragility of the Aravallis, imposed restrictions and demanded stricter enforcement. In 2024, the Court went a step further, directing Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat not to grant fresh mining permissions until a clear and uniform framework for identifying and protecting the Aravalli hills was finalised.
This was meant to be a protective pause. Instead, it has become the eye of the storm.
The Supreme Court’s Definition—and the Controversy
In late 2025, the Supreme Court accepted a technical definition proposed by a government-led expert committee. According to this definition, only landforms rising 100 metres or more above the surrounding terrain would qualify as Aravalli hills, and only clusters of such hills would form an “Aravalli range”.
On paper, the definition appeared scientific. On the ground, it triggered alarm.
Experts pointed out that most of the Aravalli system consists of low-lying hills, ridges and hillocks, many of which do not meet the 100-metre threshold. By this logic, a vast majority of the Aravallis would fall outside legal protection. Ecologists warn that nature does not function by numerical cut-offs. These smaller formations play a crucial role in holding soil, storing moisture and moderating wind flow. Excluding them from protection could legally open vast areas to mining and construction.
A Constitutional Question, Not Just an Environmental One
The controversy also raises deeper constitutional concerns. Indian environmental jurisprudence has consistently held that the Right to Life under Article 21 includes the right to clean air, safe water and a healthy environment. The Public Trust Doctrine places natural resources under the guardianship of the State, not as property to be exhausted but as assets to be protected for public use. The Precautionary Principle, long upheld by Indian courts, demands restraint where ecological damage may be irreversible.
Seen through this lens, redefining the Aravallis narrowly is not merely a technical exercise—it is a question of constitutional responsibility.
Climate Change and the Cost of Weakening Natural Defences
At a time when climate change is intensifying heatwaves, disrupting rainfall patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, weakening the Aravallis could have long-term consequences. These hills act as natural buffers against rising temperatures and erratic monsoons. Their degradation could accelerate desertification, intensify urban heat islands and push water-stressed regions closer to crisis.
Protecting the Aravallis is therefore not about preserving the past; it is about securing India’s climate future.
Development Without Destruction: The Way Forward
The debate around the Aravallis is often framed as environment versus development. This is a false choice. Sustainable development does not mean flattening natural systems for short-term economic gain. It means recognising that water security, public health and climate stability are economic necessities.
Instead of height-based definitions, experts advocate landscape-level protection of the Aravalli system, recognising ecological continuity rather than isolated landforms. Community-led conservation, strict monitoring of mining using satellite and drone technology, restoration of degraded hills, and declaring ecologically critical zones as eco-sensitive areas offer a more balanced path forward.
Once a hill is destroyed, it cannot be rebuilt. Once an aquifer collapses, no policy can refill it.
A Defining Moment
The Supreme Court has acknowledged the need for a long-term, science-based management plan for the Aravallis. That plan must go beyond narrow definitions and recognise the hills as a living system. Protecting only tall formations while sacrificing the rest is like preserving a tree’s crown while cutting its roots.
The Aravalli Range is not just a geological feature. It is a climate shield, a water reservoir and a silent guardian for millions. What is lost here will not be measured merely in tonnes of stone extracted, but in air quality worsened, water sources depleted and futures compromised.
At this crossroads, India must decide whether the Aravallis will remain standing—not just on maps, but on the ground. |
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