Supreme Court Pushes Aravalli Definition Debate Forward

The task was to define the Aravalli Hills, an ancient range of eroded hills stretching across four states, from the outskirts of Delhi to Gujarat. Even after three committees worked on it for over a year, using satellite images and advice from experts, the Union government could not agree on a single technical definition.

It was only after the Supreme Court threatened to take contempt action against senior Environment Ministry officials that a new sub-committee was formed in August 2025. Instead of trying to strictly define the Aravallis, the sub-committee focused on creating a definition that would “balance” environmental concerns with the Centre’s 2019 National Mineral Policy, which promotes mining of critical minerals for the country’s economic growth. This information was revealed in a 2,000-page affidavit submitted by the Environment Ministry to the Supreme Court.