SC takes suo motu cognisance of Aravalli issue, hearing on Monday

The suo motu case is listed for hearing before a Special Vacation Bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AG Masih on December 29.

The top court had earlier approved an elevation-linked definition for classifying landforms as part of the Aravalli range — spanning across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat — for the purpose of mining regulation.

There have been public protests over the issue and environmental activists have expressed serious concerns over the revised definition of the Aravalli hills, saying dilution of the definition could legitimise mining and construction activities in hitherto protected areas.

They underlined Aravalli’s ecological significance in preventing desertification and sustaining groundwater levels.

In view of the fact that various states adopted different definitions for Aravalli hills/range, the top court had constituted a committee to examine the issue.

In its report submitted to the top court in October 2025, the committee suggested several measures to protect and preserve the Aravalli hills. Any landform in Aravalli districts having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief should be termed as Aravalli hills, the committee said.

It defined the Aravalli range as “two or more Aravalli hills located within a proximity of 500 metres from each other, measured from the outermost point on the boundary of the lowest contour line on either side."

In November 2025, a Bench of then CJI BR Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria accepted the committee’s recommendation. It decided not to impose a complete ban on mining activities in the Aravallis, noting that such a blanket prohibition led to illegal mining activities.

The top court had said, “It may not be in the interest of ecology and the environment if further mining activities are permitted to be carried out without a body of experts, such as ICFRE, examining the issue of protection of the conservation areas.”

It had directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to prepare a management plan for sustainable mining for the Aravali hills and ranges.