The Aravalli Hill Issue of India: How a New Legal Definition Is Destroying a 2.5 Billion-Year-Old Natural Shield

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The Aravalli Hill Issue of India: How a Dangerous New Definition Is Silently Destroying a 2.5-Billion-Year-Old Natural Shield

India is not losing the Aravalli Range because of natural erosion.
India is losing it because of definitions, loopholes, and deliberate technical manipulation.

The Aravalli Hills are not just mountains. They are India’s oldest living geological system, older than the Himalayas, older than most life on Earth. They have protected North India for over 2.5 billion years. Once destroyed, they can never be restored—not in centuries, not in millennia.

Yet today, the Aravalli is being dismantled legally, under the cover of a newly accepted definition.

The Controversial New Definition of “Aravalli Hills”: A Legal Weapon Against Nature

The core of the Aravalli crisis lies in a new definition accepted by the Supreme Court to determine what qualifies as an “Aravalli Hill.” On paper, it sounds technical. In reality, it opens massive doors for exploitation.

This definition rests on two dangerous criteria—vertical and horizontal—which together strip protection from most of the range.

The Vertical Factor: When 99 Meters Can Decide the Fate of a Mountain

Under the new rule, a landform must rise at least 100 meters from its surrounding land to be officially recognized as an Aravalli hill.

If a hill measures 99 meters or less, it is no longer protected under the Forest Conservation Act. It becomes “ordinary land.”

This is not a small technical change. It is catastrophic.

Why This Is Deeply Flawed

The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world. Over millions of years, natural erosion has reduced its height. Expecting ancient hills to meet modern height benchmarks is scientifically absurd.

The Statistical Reality: 91.3% of Aravalli Hills Lose Protection Overnight

According to geological mapping, 1,133 out of 1,281 Aravalli hills are naturally below 100 meters due to erosion.

That means 91.3% of the Aravalli Range instantly loses legal protection.

This single clause converts protected ecological heritage into land legally available for:

  • Mining

  • Real estate projects

  • Industrial expansion

  • Private land grabbing

The Horizontal Factor: Breaking a Mountain Range into Legal Fragments

The second clause introduces another destructive condition.

Two or more hills must be within 500 meters of each other to be classified as a “range.” If they are farther apart, they are treated as isolated patches.

Why This Destroys Ecological Continuity

Mountains do not function as isolated dots. They operate as connected systems—for water recharge, wildlife movement, and climate regulation.

By fragmenting them legally, this definition allows authorities to argue that most of the Aravalli no longer qualifies as a mountain range at all.

The Height Measurement Scam: How “Surrounding Land” Becomes a Tool of Destruction

Traditionally, height is measured from Mean Sea Level (MSL)—a fixed global standard.

This new rule abandons that principle and instead measures height from “surrounding land.”

The Deadly Legal Trap

“Surrounding land” has no legal definition.

This allows manipulation.

A developer can dump debris, construction waste, or soil around a hill, artificially raising the ground level by a few meters. A hill that was once 103 meters tall can suddenly become 98 meters tall on paper.

Legally, it ceases to be a hill.
Practically, it is sentenced to destruction.

Desertification: How the Fall of Aravalli Will Push the Thar Desert Eastward

The Aravalli Range acts as a natural barrier against the Thar Desert.

If over 90% of these hills are removed:

  • Sandstorms will move unchecked into Haryana, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh

  • Fertile land will slowly turn arid

  • Agricultural productivity will collapse

Delhi is not prepared to become a frontline desert city.

The Wildlife Corridor Collapse: From Biodiversity to Genetic Dead Ends

The Aravalli forms a crucial wildlife corridor connecting sanctuaries like:

  • Ranthambore

  • Sariska

  • Kumbhalgarh

When hills are mined and forests cleared:

  • Animal movement stops

  • Populations get trapped

  • Inbreeding increases

  • Immunity weakens

  • Local extinction becomes inevitable

This is not conservation loss. This is ecological suffocation.

The Water Crisis: From Natural Sponges to Concrete Flood Channels

The Aravalli hills act as groundwater recharge systems. Their porous rock absorbs rainwater and releases it slowly into aquifers.

Replace hills with concrete and mining pits, and the result is:

  • Flash floods during monsoons

  • Severe droughts during summers

  • Permanent groundwater depletion

Cities cannot survive without underground water reserves.

Air Pollution and Heat Islands: Turning Delhi into a Furnace

Aravalli forests filter dust and PM 2.5 particles before they reach Delhi.

Removing them means:

  • Worse air quality

  • Higher respiratory disease rates

  • Formation of urban heat islands

  • Local temperature rise of 3–5°C

This is a direct threat to public health.

Mining, Politics, and the Long History of “Stone Rushes”

During the 1980s and 1990s, real estate expansion triggered massive stone extraction across the Aravalli.

Despite:

  • The 1992 eco-sensitive notification

  • Multiple bans

  • Court interventions

Illegal mining continued with political protection.

In Rajasthan alone, 31 out of 128 Aravalli hills have already vanished.

Gone forever.

The Temporary Ban Illusion: Why the Current Protection Is Fragile

The Supreme Court has temporarily halted new mining leases until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is created.

History warns us:

  • Similar plans were diluted in Saranda Forest, Jharkhand

  • Political pressure often weakens environmental safeguards

  • “Sustainable mining” frequently becomes a justification, not a solution

Once the door opens, it rarely closes again.

The Aravalli Is a Biological Library We Can Never Rewrite

The Aravalli is a living archive of Earth’s history.

Once destroyed:

  • You cannot replant a billion-year-old ecosystem

  • You cannot recreate its geology

  • You cannot restore its climate function

This is irreversible loss.

India Must Not Stay Silent: This Is a Call to Action

Every Indian must understand one truth:

The Aravalli does not belong to politicians, miners, or builders.
It belongs to the future of India.

We will not sit quietly.
We will not allow this manipulation.
We will raise our voices.
We will take action.
We will save the Aravalli.

DIRECT ACTION YOU CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW

1️⃣ File an RTI – The Strongest Legal Weapon of a Citizen

Ask questions directly to the government.

RTI Portal (Official Government Site):
https://rtionline.gov.in

You can ask about:

  • Mining permissions

  • Environmental clearances

  • Forest diversion reports

2️⃣ Support Conservation Through Trusted Organizations

WWF India works on forest and biodiversity protection with legal and ground-level impact.

Donate or learn more here:
https://www.wwfindia.org

3️⃣ Register an Official Environmental Complaint

Complaints filed here are recorded and trackable.

CPGRAMS (PMO-linked grievance portal):
https://pgportal.gov.in

ONE-LINE SUMMARY

RTI = Questions (Pressure)
WWF = Support (Action)
CPGRAMS = Complaint (Record)

Research & Reference Sources 

Final Message to Every Indian

The Aravalli has stood for billions of years.
It cannot speak for itself anymore.

We must speak for it.
We must act for it.
We must save it.

SHARE THIS BLOG EVERYWHERE — POST IT ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, X (TWITTER), LINKEDIN, WHATSAPP, TELEGRAM, YOUTUBE COMMUNITY, AND EVERY SOCIAL PLATFORM YOU USE — TAG THE AUTHORITIES, TAG DECISION-MAKERS, AND CREATE SO MUCH PUBLIC PRESSURE THAT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ARAVALLI CAN NO LONGER BE IGNORED.

India will not allow the Aravalli to be erased.


Thanks for Reading,

Raja Dtg

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat 

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