The Aravalli Range is once again at the center of a legal battle, as environmental activist Hitendra Gandhi has written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and the President of India, seeking a review of a recent Supreme Court order. The letter addresses concerns about the potential weakening of environmental safeguards protecting the Aravalli Range.
The core of the issue lies in the definition of "Aravalli Hills and Ranges" adopted by the apex court, which granted assent to the Environment Ministry's recommendation. The new definition specifies that an "Aravalli Hill" is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 meters or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 meters of each other.
This definition has sparked considerable controversy, with environmentalists asserting that it could lead to the destruction of 90% of the Aravalli Range due to a lack of legal protection for areas that fall outside this new definition. Gandhi, in his letter, argues that "the 100-metre rule risks excluding large ecologically integral parts that may not meet numerical height threshold but remain functionally critical," emphasizing the need to protect low ridges and water-recharge areas.
The activist has urged the Chief Justice to reconsider or clarify the definitional framework used to identify the Aravalli Hills and Ranges, cautioning that a narrow, height-based criterion could unintentionally weaken environmental protection across North-West India.
The Aravalli Range, which stretches across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi, is considered an ecologically critical area. Concerns have been raised about the ongoing use of raw stone mined from the hills. Activists like Neelam Ahluwalia, a founding member of People for Aravalli, have voiced fears that the recent court decision could leave a significant portion of the range unprotected and vulnerable to mining activities. The situation is particularly alarming in districts like Alwar, where a substantial number of hills have reportedly been flattened due to mining.
In response to the Supreme Court's acceptance of the Union Environment Ministry's definition, widespread protests have erupted across Rajasthan. Political leaders, environmental activists, and concerned citizens have voiced strong opposition, warning of potential ecological and economic consequences. They argue that the revised definition could exclude nearly 90% of the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan from protection, as these areas consist of hills lower than 100 meters.
The Aravalli Heritage People's Campaign was recently launched from Jaipur, with Kavita Srivastava, national president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), urging the government to repeal the uniform definition proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Srivastava and other activists see this definition as a threat to India's ecological and cultural heritage.
A 2018 report by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), appointed by the Supreme Court, revealed that approximately 25% of the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan had already been destroyed. This underscores the urgency of the situation and the need for effective measures to protect the remaining parts of the range.
