§  Supreme Court stays 100-metre Aravalli definition Dec 2025. New expert panel to review. Check mining ban status, protest updates & Delhi NCR air impact now

§  Save Aravalli: SC stays controversial 100m rule after nationwide protests. Learn how this affects groundwater, desertification & Delhi pollution crisis.”

§  Supreme Court halts Aravalli redefinition amid #SaveAravalli movement. Expert committee formed. What it means for mining, forests & water security

Dhruv Rathee Sourec: India’s Aravalli Hills are not “just rocks and ridges.” They are a living shield—slowing desert winds, helping recharge groundwater and supporting forests around Delhi NCR and Rajasthan. That’s why the Save Aravalli debate has exploded nationwide after the Supreme Court first accepted a new “100-metre above local relief” definition (Nov 20, 2025)—and then stayed that decision after widespread concern (Dec 29, 2025).

Now a high-powered expert committee will re-check what counts as Aravalli, what gets excluded and whether any “gap” can become an open door for mining and construction.

Details & Context

1) What the Supreme Court initially approved (and why it sparked anger)

The November 20 ruling accepted a uniform definition to reduce confusion across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In simple terms:

·       Aravalli Hills: landforms that rise 100 metres or more above “local relief” (the surrounding baseline), including slopes and associated landforms.

·       Aravalli Range: two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other, with the in-between area included.

Critics argued: if the “baseline” is local terrain and not sea level, many smaller-but-critical hills/ridges might be excluded in practice, weakening protection for wildlife corridors, recharge zones and dust barriers.

This concern became bigger when widely reported internal assessments suggested that in Rajasthan, only 1,048 out of 12,081 hills (20m or higher) meet the 100m threshold (about 8.7%). (FSI later publicly said it had not done/endorsed a “9% only” study in the way it was being presented, adding complexity to the debate).

2) What happened next: protests + Supreme Court stay

Protests and public pressure grew—from Gurugram to Udaipur with slogans like “No Aravalli, No Life” and calls to protect the full ecosystem.

On Dec 29, the Supreme Court kept the earlier recommendations and directions in abeyance and ordered creation of a High-Powered Expert Committee to reassess the definition and likely “exclusion zones” and to evaluate ecological consequences over time.

Importantly, the Court also indicated that, until further orders, mining permissions should not be granted in the Aravallis as per the FSI 2010 approach unless the Court permits it.

3) Mining status right now (the practical reality)

Even during the definition dispute, the Court’s direction has been:

·       No new mining leases until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is prepared through ICFRE, based on scientific mapping and ecological capacity.

·       The Centre has also issued directions about a complete ban on new mining leases till the sustainable plan is finalised and asked ICFRE to identify more no-mining zones.

However, experts have pointed out that “no new leases” is not a forever ban and there are exceptions for certain critical/strategic/atomic minerals, plus a pathway for mining once the sustainable plan is ready.

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Quotes (for story punch, easy language)

·       Protesters in Gurugram and Udaipur raised slogans like “Save Aravalli, Save the Future” and “No Aravalli, No Life” during demonstrations against the definition change.

·       The Supreme Court itself noted the need to avoid “regulatory gaps” that could undermine ecological integrity and ordered fresh expert review before irreversible steps are taken.

Additional Information (Why the fear is real: ground realities)

A) Illegal construction is already eating the Aravallis

This is not only about mining. Encroachment + luxury farmhouses + illegal buildings are a known pressure point. In Faridabad’s Aravalli forest region, officials have reported 6,793 illegal constructions identified via drone survey and demolition drives have been carried out under Supreme Court directions.

B) Big-money land stories keep returning

Investigations have also highlighted how forest-edge land can become a high-profit real estate game. A Reporters’ Collective investigation described alleged use of shell/obscure companies linked to the Patanjali group for land deals in Mangar (Aravalli belt near Delhi) with questions about the legal and conservation context.

C) The government’s side (what officials say)

The government-facing documents argue that the definition is meant to be objective and map-verifiable and that slopes, foothills and areas between hills (within 500m) are also included for mining regulation—so it is “wrong” to conclude everything below 100m becomes open for mining.

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Impact Analysis (Why Save Aravalli is a national issue)

1) Desertification risk: the “shield” effect

Aravalli forests and ridges reduce wind speed and trap dust/sand. If gaps widen and vegetation reduces, desert wind can push further east—raising dust load and heat stress. This is why the Court and government documents repeatedly describe Aravallis as a barrier against desertification.

2) Delhi NCR air pollution: green lungs under stress

The Aravallis are often called the green lungs of north-west India, helping control dust and supporting a scrub-forest ecosystem that buffers NCR’s air quality. Reduced protection can mean more fragmentation, more dust sources and more construction pressure.

3) Groundwater: recharge zones vs concrete

Aravalli rock formations and forest soils support natural recharge. When slopes are cut, mined, or paved, recharge drops. Even official policy documents emphasise Aravallis as a groundwater recharge zone and ecological support system.

4) Trust deficit: why “definition fights” turn into street protests

When people see illegal mining, illegal colonies and “development” projects moving faster than restoration, even technical definitions start looking like political shortcuts. That credibility gap is visible in the scale of protests and the Court’s decision to pause and re-check the framework.

Conclusion

The Save Aravalli story is no longer only a legal definition dispute. It is a direct fight over air, water, forests and the future of Delhi NCR and Rajasthan’s ecology. The Supreme Court’s stay and new expert committee signals one thing clearly: this issue is too high-impact to be decided in haste.

If the next definition protects only “peaks” and misses the connected ridges, gaps and slopes, the ecosystem could break. If the definition is too loose, enforcement becomes messy. The only acceptable outcome is a science-first, map-clear, enforceable framework—with real protection on the ground, not just on paper.

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