The days of the Aravallis in Haryana seem numbered

The Supreme Court recently heard matters concerning the Aravalli hills in Haryana — complaints against the proposed Aravalli Safari project in Gurugram and another relating to the Forest Definition issue in relation to Haryana. Even as Haryana has defended the project in court, both these matters have an important bearing on the long-term ecological conservation of the Aravallis in Haryana.

Earlier, on March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court had directed the states to set up expert committees to identify forests as per the dictionary meaning within six months, while hearing a slew of writ petitions challenging the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, 2023. These amendments dilute its provisions to a large extent, nullifying the protection accorded by the judgments of the Supreme Court on such lands under the category of “forests as per dictionary meaning".

Pursuant to this, the Government of Haryana came up with a definition which essentially lays down that areas below 40 per cent canopy density shall not be considered forests as per the dictionary meaning — taking a cue from the definition proposed by Goa. Notably, the average annual rainfall in Goa is 3,000 mm while it is around 500 mm in the Aravallis — which leads to very different kinds of forests, respectively. Thus, such a copycat approach only indicates a lack of due application of mind — or perhaps something else entirely.

The Aravallis in Haryana are scrub forests/grasslands with canopy (read tree) density around 10-20 per cent — barring a few patches where better moisture has allowed magnificent Dhauk forests to come up. This definition effectively ensures that most of the Aravallis in Haryana, other than those areas protected under the forest laws, would lose what little protection they have till date due to the judgments of the Supreme Court in the Godavarman/MC Mehta cases. This would yield a bonanza worth hundreds of thousands of crores to realty and mining companies, especially in Gurugram and Faridabad.

While the spirit of the directions of the apex court was to guide the states to take positive steps towards forest conservation, this definition does the opposite. With only 2 per cent of the area under natural forest cover in the state, one would have expected a more proactive approach towards conservation, but it was not to be.

While still coming to terms regarding this restrictive forest definition, in a coordinated move, the Department of Mines and Geology has proposed another novel definition for the Aravallis. In a letter, couched in pseudo-scientific jargon, it has proposed that the height criterion of 100 metres (only hills higher than 100 m shall be Aravallis — please do not ask me why!). In addition, it says that only "Mesoproterozoic rocks" should be considered the Aravallis and "Neoproterozoic intrusives" should be excluded as these are "younger, unrelated to orogenic events; do not form linear, continuous ranges; their inclusion would dilute the geological identity of the Aravalli-Delhi fold belt."

Let me explain this in simple words. The Mesoproterozoic era is the geological period from 1.6 billion to

1 billion years ago and the Neoproterozoic era 1 billion to 540 million years ago. So, basically, the proposal states that if the hill/rocks are not at least 1 billion years old or greater than 100 metres in height, they don't deserve protection — feel free to do as you will with them. Such erudition beggars the imagination. For want of a better analogy, it is akin to saying that if my parents are below 80 years of age and above six feet in height they won't get medical treatment!

One shudders to even think of what new criteria such creative minds will come up with next. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The Aravallis in Haryana have survived for nearly 3 billion years, but their days now seem to be numbered. The Amendments to the Forest Conservation Act enacted by Parliament; the definition of forests adopted by the Government of Haryana; this novel age- and height-related criteria and the amendment of the PLPA, 1900 Act enacted by the state which though notified is held in abeyance by the orders of the SC — all these are a series of adverse executive actions in recent years which will have severe long-term effects on the ecological state of Haryana.

Nearly 5,000 years ago, the Mahabharata war took place in this very region because the Kauravas refused Lord Krishna's proposal to part with five villages for the Pandavas. We are still fighting over the same land, having learnt nothing from our past.

As far back as 2004, in the MC Mehta judgment, the SC had pronounced that “the Aravallis must be protected at all costs.” Even after the passage of two decades and innumerable judgments of the courts, not much has changed in the thinking and approach of the bureaucratic mandarins.

The fact that these hills are vital to the ecological and water security of the entire region, aside from serving as heat and pollution sinks, is completely ignored in favour of the potential monetary gains. One can now only trust in the sagacity and wisdom of the SC to protect these last vestiges of natural biodiversity left in the National Capital Region (NCR).