Experts Warn SC Ruling Could Endanger Groundwater, Biodiversity Across Aravalli Range
Activists protest new Supreme Court Aravalli definition.
A controversial Supreme Court ruling on November 20, 2025, adopted a new definition limiting Aravalli hills to landforms rising at least 100 metres above local relief or clusters within 500 metres, igniting widespread protests from Gurugram in Haryana to Udaipur in Rajasthan as environmentalists decry the potential opening of vast ecologically sensitive areas to unchecked exploitation.
Demonstrations erupted across multiple cities with large gatherings of activists, locals, lawyers, and social organizations brandishing banners and chanting slogans like "Save Aravalli, Save the Future" and "No Aravalli, No Life," voicing alarm over the exclusion of thousands of lower-elevation hillocks that previously enjoyed broader protective status against mining and development.
Critics argue that the elevation-based criterion dramatically shrinks the legally recognized Aravalli footprint, with data indicating only a fraction of hillocks in states like Rajasthan meet the threshold, effectively removing safeguards from approximately 90 percent of the range and inviting rampant mining, construction, and commercial projects.
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Activists emphasize the Aravalli's irreplaceable role as a natural barrier preventing Thar Desert expansion into Delhi-NCR, facilitating crucial groundwater recharge, curbing air pollution, and sustaining biodiversity, warning that degradation risks irreversible desertification, water scarcity, and heightened climatic vulnerabilities for millions.
Political leaders including Rajasthan Opposition figure Tika Ram Jully and former CM Ashok Gehlot joined the chorus, slamming the decision as an ecological betrayal that contradicts campaigns like 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' while prioritizing short-term gains, as calls mount for declaring the entire range a protected zone with stringent conservation enforcement.
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