New Delhi: Advocate Hitendra Gandhi has written to the Chief Justice of India urging the Supreme Court to reconsider or clarify the definitional framework adopted for identifying the “Aravalli Hills and Ranges.” He warned that the height-based criterion used in the court’s November 20, 2025, order could unintentionally weaken environmental protection across North-West India.
Key Concerns:
Height and Ecology: Gandhi pointed out that the method of identifying Aravalli hills solely as landforms with a “local relief” of 100 meters or more above their surroundings is unscientific. He argued that in an ancient and eroded system like the Aravallis, low-relief ridges and outcrops also hold significant ecological importance.
Desertification: Low-relief ridges and terrains are functionally critical for buffering against dust and desertification, as well as for groundwater recharge. Excluding these from protection could aggravate air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region and intensify heat extremes.
Legal Grey Zones: A narrow definition could create “grey zones” in enforcement, enabling land-use conversion, mining, and construction in areas that are scientifically part of the Aravalli system. This could lead to irreversible environmental damage.
Demands:
Instead of relying solely on height, a “multi-criteria framework” should be adopted that accounts for geomorphology, hydrology, and biodiversity.
Geo-referenced maps and datasets used to identify Aravalli areas should be made available for public auditability.
Binding constraints on “carrying capacity” and “no-go zones” must be incorporated into the mining framework before granting leases.
Reminding that the right to a healthy environment is a fundamental right under Article 21, Gandhi requested the court’s intervention to protect the Aravallis for future generations. The Supreme Court has already registered a suo motu case regarding the definition of the Aravalli Hills.
( Law Beat)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com