New Delhi In a corner move to guard one of India’s oldest and most fragile mountain systems, the Supreme Court has approved a livery, wisdom-grounded description of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges, significantly tensing controls on mining conditioning across the region. The decision, delivered through orders passed in November and December 2025, adopts recommendations led by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to regularize how Aravalli terrains are linked, counterplotted, and defended. The ruling is anticipated to have far-reaching counteraccusations for environmental conservation, mining regulation, and sustainable development across northern and western India.
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Ancient Hedge Against Desertification
The Supreme Court underscored the ecological significance of the Aravalli system, describing it as a critical natural hedge against desertification, a major groundwater recharge zone, and a vital biodiversity corridor. Stretching from Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Delhi, the Aravallis play a pivotal part in regulating climate, supporting timbers, and acting as the “green lungs” of the Delhi-NCR region. The court noted that unbounded mining and inconsistent delineations over time had weakened nonsupervisory oversight, putting immense pressure on this ancient hill range.
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Livery description to end nebulosity
At the core of the judgment is a clear, civil description of what constitutes the Aravalli Hills and Ranges. Under the court-backed frame, any landscape rising 100 meters or further above the original relief will qualify as an Aravalli Hill. This description also includes all supporting pitches and associated terrains enclosed by the smallest figure line. Importantly, the frame goes beyond individual hills. Where two or more similar hills are located within 500 meters of each other, they will inclusively be treated as an Aravalli Range. This brings intermediating denes.
, pitches, and lower hillocks under statutory protection, indeed if some individual sections fall below the 100-cadence height threshold.
Stricter Controls on Mining Leases
The relinquishment of this description has immediate nonsupervisory consequences. Mining plots can no longer be granted on these counterplotted terrains, closing loopholes that preliminarily allowed fractured interpretations by different countries. The government stated that earlier inconsistencies in defining the Aravallis had been exploited to permit mining in ecologically sensitive zones. By homogenizing identification and mapping, the new frame establishes an invariant legal base to regulate and, where necessary, enjoin mining across the entire range.
Rajasthan Model Gauged Up Nationwide
The invariant description draws heavily from Rajasthan’s long-standing approach. Since 2006, Rajasthan has followed a formal description grounded on a 2002 state report that used the Richard Murphy landscape bracket. A commission constituted by the MoEFCC consulted with Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, reviewing best practices and scientific criteria. During reflections, all sharing countries agreed to borrow Rajasthan’s 100-cadence criterion while strengthening it through clearer mapping, translucency, and fresh ecological safeguards. The commission also recommended obligatory marking of Aravalli hills on Survey of India charts and the identification of core or exempt areas where mining would remain rigorously banned.
Interim Mining Moratorium Ordered
In its final judgment dated November 20, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted the commission’s recommendations in full and assessed an interim snap on new mining plants across the Aravalli region. This doldrums will remain in force until a comprehensive, geography-wide operation plan for sustainable mining is prepared for the entire geological crest extending from Gujarat to Delhi. The plan will be drafted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, following the model previously used for the Saranda timbers in Jharkhand. Until the plan is perfected, only being mines may continue operations, and that too under strict compliance with sustainable mining conditions laid down by the commission.
Core and Exempt Areas Declared Off-Limits
The court also championed a complete ban on mining in core and exempt zones of the Aravallis. These include defended areas, barracuda reserves, eco-sensitive zones, washes, and afforestation spots developed using finances from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. Limited exceptions apply only to infinitesimal, critical, and strategic minerals notified under the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, while all other environmental safeguards continue to apply. Also, the court directed that no mining exertion should take place within one kilometer of the defended area boundaries, indeed in cases where notified eco-sensitive zones are lower.
Focus on Enforcement, Monitoring, and Restoration
To ensure effective perpetration, the frame authorizes the use of satellite mapping, common examinations by authorities, and six-month compliance reporting for operating mines. It also calls for drone surveillance, CCTV monitoring, electronic shadowing of mineral transport, and the formation of quarter-position task forces to check illegal mining. The forthcoming sustainable mining plan will identify admissible zones, assess accretive environmental impacts, and define detailed post-mining restoration measures. According to the government, these ways will cover groundwater recharge areas, help further desertification, save biodiversity corridors, and strengthen the Aravallis’ part in maintaining ecological balance. The ministry emphasized that the measures strike a balance between conservation imperatives and responsible development, implying there’s no imminent trouble to the Aravalli ecosystem.
