The Supreme Court, on December 29, 2025, in an unexpected but welcome move, suo motu stayed its November 20 order on the definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges. The November ruling accepted an elevation-based definition proposed by the Union Government, which caused widespread concern among the people of the affected States of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.

The November 20 order, to the consternation of the people of the four states and environmental and legal experts, adopted a very narrow definition, classifying only landforms with an elevation of 100 metres or more above local relief as "Aravalli Hills."

Following widespread protests across the four states, irrespective of party or caste affiliations, the Supreme Court, perhaps for the first time, took note of public concerns and acknowledged the need for clarification on whether the narrow definition (100 metres elevation) would exclude ecologically fragile areas, allowing unregulated mining as well as building construction in between the Aravalli Hills.

According to the latest SC order, a high-powered independent committee consisting of experts in various fields is to be formed to redefine the Aravalli Hills, considering all aspects of its ecological and environmental impact, and address various ambiguities with regard to the Union laws and state laws for the protection and preservation of environmental and ecological balance essential for sustainable development.

The stay order means that no irreversible administrative or ecological actions can be taken by any authority, including the Union and state governments, based on the framework upheld by the Supreme Court on November 20.

Until the matter is resolved, there will be a moratorium on the grant of new mining leases or the renewal of existing ones across the entire Aravalli landscape in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Existing legal mining could be carried out only under strict regulations.

The November 20, 2025, judgement aimed to lay down a uniform definition of the 740-kilometre-long Aravalli Ranges across the states to curb rampant illegal mining. It also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM).

However, the narrow 100-metre height criterion specified for the Aravalli Hills became the subject of widespread protests and criticism. The 100-metre height criterion would have rendered 90 per cent of the small hills of the Aravalli Ranges and low-lying areas without the protection of environmental laws, which are ecologically essential for preventing further desertification and recharging groundwater.

The SC, in its November 20 order, had simply, without applying its mind, accepted the recommendations of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges to protect the world's oldest mountain system.

The committee had recommended that "Aravalli Hills" be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" would be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. This narrow definition, ecologists, environmentalists, and affected ordinary people pointed out, would open large areas of the ecologically fragile ecosystem to mining and real estate development, which have already caused irreparable damage.

The Union Government, it was further pointed out, made the new narrow definition of hills and ranges without any scientific and ecological studies or public consultation. Therefore, if the new definition were accepted, it would destroy large parts of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges through granite and sand mining and real estate development, environmentalists argued.

According to eminent environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari, the manner in which illegal mining has been going on in the Aravallis is an administrative and governance failure." The judicial intervention was much needed. It is a welcome step by the Supreme Court of India to stay its earlier order, but it is important that the committee which is going to be formed should have ecologists and environmentalists and not just bureaucrats," she added.

Neelam Ahluwalia, of the "People for Aravalli," described the SC's stay of its own order as an interim win. "What we actually demand is that the Union and state governments ban all mining in the Aravallis. We need a completely detailed, independent assessment cumulative of the entire range, on people's health and the ecosystem to determine how much of the Aravalli has already been destroyed!" she demanded.

Ecological restoration practitioner Vijay Dhasmana said there are two lobbies, the mining and real estate, which are pressing for a new definition of the Aravallis. However, the geological features of the Aravallis have not yet been defined. The mining and real estate lobbies strongly believe that what is good for their profits is also suitable for the Aravallis!

The SC order staying its own order on the Aravallis, made on the advice of the Union Ministry of Environment, has to be viewed very positively by the people of the country. For one, in recent times, the Supreme Court and High Courts have been very reluctant to go against the government, even when its orders have caused unavoidable hardships to the people.

In the 80s and 90s, we witnessed the Supreme Court and High Courts taking suo motu action on issues of public interest, even when individual freedoms were in danger.

Considering the Aravalli Hills and Ranges have been subjected to unbridled human greed for decades now, one can only hope that the SC will also appoint a monitoring committee to ensure that its orders are executed in the letter and spirit.