Overview
- A three‑judge vacation bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices J. K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, will hear the suo motu case titled “In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues.”
- The earlier order defined an Aravalli hill as rising at least 100 metres above local relief and a range as two or more such hills within 500 metres, while allowing existing mines to run only under strict committee guidelines pending a sustainable‑mining plan by MoEF&CC and ICFRE.
- The environment ministry has told states to enforce a complete halt on new mining leases across the Aravallis and asked ICFRE to flag additional no‑mining zones, while asserting the definition protects over 90% of the range and leaves under 0.2% open to mining.
- Authorities have begun mapping under the new criteria, and a December 11 ministry letter urging a single joint survey for forest diversion has drawn expert criticism for potentially diluting safeguards and departmental independence.
- Protests and expert critiques argue the 100‑metre cutoff would exclude most lower ridges, with analysis noting only about 1,048 of more than 12,000 mapped hills exceed that height, while separate Rajasthan rules now permit low‑density projects on urban hills with 8–15 degree slopes.