Paper Details

The Aravalli Mountain Range , an ancient geological formation that predates the Himalayas is at Centre of high stakes, legal and ecological battle. The Hills have been subjected to intensive quarrying and mining in Rajasthan and Haryana. While construction and urban sprawl have shrunk them in the national capital region. Recently, the Supreme Court pause the controversy order, identifying the mountain based on their height which could have wiped out the legal protection of large part of the ranges” (nulkar, 2026). “This article situates the controversy within broader political science debates on judicial activism, environmental federalism, and the tension between sustainable development and growth-oriented capitalist environmentalism. The new definition of Aravalli accepted by the Supreme Court on 20 November 2026 effectively excludes almost 90% range from protection against mining and other development activities as per internal assessment of the forest survey of India. Critics sphere that this definition under which the Aravallis comprise any landform at an elevation of hundred metres or more above, the local relief would be hammer blow for an already degraded hill range that provides diverse ecological and environmental services to northern and north western India” (Ghanekar, 2025). “In M.C Mehta v. Union of India and Ors (2004) represents a pivotal moment in India's legal landscape concerning environmental protection and sustainable development. The Supreme Court of India deliberated on the environmental degradation caused by extensive mining activities in the Aravalli Hill Range, spanning approximately 448 square kilometers across the districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon, including Mewat” (Supreme Court of India's Landmark Suspension of Mining in Aravalli Hill Range: A Comprehensive Analysis, 2009). The political aspect of environmental classification is exposed by the Aravallis, which also emphasizes the necessity for a governance paradigm based on ecological integrity rather than administrative expediency

Aravalli Hills; Ecological Integrity; Environmental federalism; Local Relief; Ecological integrity; Sustainable development; India