The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the implementation of its earlier directions and an expert committee review on the definition of the Aravalli Hills, citing concerns that the revised definition may be misconstrued and lead to unregulated mining in the ecologically-sensitive areas.
A vacation bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said a high-powered committee comprising domain experts be constituted to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue and give a fair, impartial, and expert opinion.
We deem it necessary to direct that the recommendations submitted by the committee, together with the findings and directions stipulated by this court in the judgment of November 20, 2025, be kept in abeyance,” the bench said while hearing a suo motu case titled ‘In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues’.
On November 20, the apex court had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned the grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts’ reports are out, for which it directed the Centre to prepare a Comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining.
Accepting the recommendations of a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges to protect the world’s oldest mountain system, the court had agreed to the committee’s conclusion that “Aravalli Hill” 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” will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
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“We further accept the recommendations with regard to the prohibition of mining in core/inviolate areas with exception as carved out of the ... committee’s report,” the top court had said.
The committee, in its definition of the Aravalli Hills, had said that “any landform located in the Aravalli districts, having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief, shall be termed as Aravalli Hills... The entire landform lying within the area enclosed by such lowest contour, whether actual or extended notionally, together with the Hill, its supporting slopes and associated landforms irrespective of their gradient, shall be deemed to constitute part of the Aravalli Hills.
The area between the two Aravalli hills is determined by first creating buffers with a width equal to the minimum distance between the lowest contour lines of both hills ... The entire area of landforms falling between the lowest contour lines of these hills, as explained, along with associated features such as Hills, Hillocks, supporting slopes, etc., shall also be included as part of the Aravalli Range.”
However, on December 29, the Bench ordered that the earlier directions will remain in abeyance until the new committee is constituted. It issued a notice to the Centre and others in the suo motu matter and posted it for further hearing on January 21.
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