What the Aravalli Hills SC Ruling Could Mean For India’s Future

December 22, 2025

‘There was a time when India was known to be the richest in the world not just in gold and culture, but in biodiversity as well. But now look where we are.’ - In 15-20 years from now, this could be the story that elders in many parts of our country could be passing on to their children and grandchildren. But wait, will that even happen for sure?

The Supreme Court’s recent judgment on the Aravalli Hills, in which it accepted the government’s ‘new definition’ of what constitutes the mountain range, has more skeptics than fans. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) claims that a landform in the iconic mountain range would constitute an ‘Aravalli Hill’ provided it rises at a minimum of 100 metres above the local terrain. It is only a cluster of hills within a 500-metre radius which could be classified as an ‘Aravalli range’..

It means that from now, 90% of the Aravallis will not be under legal protection from mining which could be dangerously exploitative, causing harm to the natural balance of the region. This paves the way for big, private corporations to own the land for their infrastructure projects and market it as ‘economic development’ of the region.

Image Credit: NDTV

The Aravallis stretch across five regional belts in India, i.e. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. As it stretches across the Thar Desert, it has acted like a wall from the dust coming in from the east towards Delhi-NCR and neighbouring regions. What makes the Aravallis valuable is not only a vast reservoir of natural resources like graphite and rare earth, but it also serves as an underrated water aquifer, a habitat which houses many living beings and keeps the quality of soil rich.

In response, the government claims that the SC decision has been taken keeping in mind that there will be a balance between ecological conservation and economic development. The Centre’s PIB had to release a fact check to deny what in their words are ‘alarmist claims’.

Authorities say that this move will help stop the spread of desertification of the Thar Desert, protect groundwater recharge zones in valleys, preserve biodiversity zones by marking them specifically and ‘restore’ Delhi-NCR’s green lungs.

Image Credit: NDTV

However, what our elected leaders and the respected Supreme Court are perhaps missing out on is the fact that Aravalli’s forests are the lifeline for nearly 37 local communities in the country, which include tribal ones who contribute a significant workforce to the economy. They receive their essential fuelwood, fodder, medicinal herbs, grazing lands, and other reliable water sources. All those supplies could be cut off with this decision.

It is also not a coincidence that two of India’s richest business houses have energy companies and have a lot of stake in infrastructure and agriculture projects alike. Could this be a power game or a clear money game? According to ecological experts and activists, either of them seems to be the case.

“On paper, it’s 'sustainable mining' and 'development', but on the ground, it is dynamite, roads and pits cutting through leopard corridors, village commons and Delhi–NCR’s last green shield," Harjeet Singh, the head of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, told PTI in an interview.

Image Credit: Ecological Restoration Alliance

Social media continues to be buzzing in protest with this decision and rightly so, with hashtags like #SaveAravallis and #SaveAravallisSaveAQI. The questions which rise are - Why is India going the American way in terms of corporate lobbying taking priority? Will people in power and with influence make decisions for us and our children as per their whims and fancies? Are they not accountable for their decisions?

Our culture has led the way since ancient times in giving respect to every living being and not harming them intentionally. The Father of the Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, is perhaps the most famous for this saying, ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed’. It seems as if he is remembered today more in currency rather than in emergency.

If animals, soils, trees, water bodies etc. are buried, which provide each one of us, whether rich or poor, with resources which help us live, the ripple effect comes back to us. As India looks to become an economic powerhouse in the world, how would that sustain in the future if natural resources like the Aravalli are not protected?

This decision is a huge blow to those environmentalists, animal agriculture leaders, farmers, advocacy bodies and activists amongst many in the community, who fight for our rights and ensure that we remain healthy and sufficient. It would give freedom to corporations and power corridors to target other such places of biodiversity in other states too for ownership.

Neelam Ahluwalia, the head of the NGO ‘People For Aravallis’ which is fighting hard for the ranges, could not put it any better when reacting to the ‘third biggest economy in the world’ coming up with this decision.

"At a time when courts in countries like Ecuador, Colombia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh have delivered landmark judgments recognising legal rights and personhood for 'nature and specific ecosystems' to enable their protection, we are deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision that effectively sentences the Aravalli range to death. The Aravalli needs strict protection, not definitions that exclude most areas from legal safeguards,” Ahluwalia said in the 'Clean Air - My Right' Conference in New Delhi recently.

Image Credit: Outlook Business India

But as India’s population is the largest in the world, people power translating to public pressure could help in the Supreme Court reversing their decision, just as how the government was forced to repeal the Farmers Act a few years ago. So there could be some hope with faith.

Yet, it shows that India needs better biodiversity laws and how far we are behind developed and many developing countries as well. Perhaps, this Aravalli controversy could just be what we need as a wakeup call to realise how each one of us could play an important role in protecting our motherland via our natural resources.

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