Daily News Analysis ‘Aravalli Hills: Protecting Ecology while Ensuring Sustainable Development’ : 22 December

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court of India, in its November–December 2025 judgment, accepted a uniform scientific definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges and paused new mining leases until a comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is prepared, to safeguard the fragile Aravalli ecosystem.

Background of the Supreme Court Intervention

• The Supreme Court examined long-standing concerns over unregulated and illegal mining in the Aravalli region spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
• It constituted a Committee led by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) with experts from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
• The Court emphasised that the Aravallis are a national ecological asset, not merely a mineral-bearing zone.
• The judgment aims to bring clarity, uniformity, and enforceability in protecting the Aravalli landscape.

Ecological Importance of the Aravalli Hills

• The Aravallis are among the oldest mountain ranges in the world, stretching about 650 km from Delhi to Gujarat.
• They act as a natural barrier against the eastward spread of the Thar Desert, protecting the Indo-Gangetic plains.
• The range plays a crucial role in groundwater recharge, climate moderation, and air-quality regulation in the National Capital Region (NCR).
• It supports rich biodiversity, wildlife corridors, and river systems such as the Chambal, Sabarmati and Luni.

Need for a Uniform Definition

• Different States earlier used inconsistent criteria to define Aravalli hills, enabling regulatory loopholes.
• The Forest Survey of India (FSI) had proposed multiple parameters, leading to ambiguity in enforcement.
• To resolve this, the Supreme Court mandated a single, scientific, and nationally applicable definition.
• Uniformity was necessary to prevent selective mining approvals and ecological fragmentation.

Final Scientific Definition Accepted by the Court

• Aravalli Hills are defined as any landform rising 100 metres or more above local relief, including the entire enclosed hill mass and its supporting slopes.
• Aravalli Ranges consist of two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other, along with the landforms between them.
• Importantly, all slopes, foothills, valleys and intervening landforms are included, irrespective of their height.
• This ensures that mining is not automatically permitted below 100 metres, closing a major regulatory gap.

Supreme Court Directions on Mining Regulation

• The Court accepted all recommendations of the MoEF&CC Committee.
• New mining leases are frozen until a landscape-wide Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is finalised.
• Existing legal mines may continue, but only under strict environmental and monitoring conditions.
• Mining is absolutely prohibited in core/inviolate areas, except in rare cases involving critical, strategic, or atomic minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act).

Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM)

• The Court directed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to prepare the MPSM for the entire Aravalli landscape.
• The plan must identify no-mining zones, highly regulated zones, and restoration-priority areas.
• It must assess cumulative environmental impacts, ecological carrying capacity, and long-term sustainability.
• Detailed post-mining restoration and rehabilitation measures are mandatory components.

Protection of Core and Ecologically Sensitive Areas

• Mining is prohibited in Protected Areas, Tiger Reserves, wildlife corridors, Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) and wetlands.
• Areas afforested using Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds are fully protected.
• A minimum 1 km buffer from Protected Area boundaries applies even where ESZs are narrower.
• These safeguards ensure habitat connectivity and biodiversity conservation.

• The Court endorsed technology-based surveillance, including drones, CCTV cameras and electronic weighbridges.
• District-level task forces involving revenue, forest, mining and police departments are mandated.
• Transport oversight through e-challans and continuous monitoring by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) is required.
• Repeated violations can lead to suspension of Environmental Clearance (EC) and closure of mines.

Balancing Conservation with Development

• The Court rejected a blanket mining ban, noting that such bans often fuel illegal mining mafias.
• Instead, it adopted a calibrated approach combining protection of sensitive zones with regulated economic activity.
• Sustainable mining, where permitted, must comply with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plans (EMP).
• This approach aligns environmental protection with responsible development.