Why India’s Aravalli Mountain Range matters
Supreme Court redefinition of Aravallis sparks nationwide protests, threatening India’s oldest mountains, ecology, and dependent communities.
Originally published on Global Voices
Stretching nearly 670 kilometres from Gujarat to New Delhi in the Northwestern India, the Aravalli range is one of the world’s oldest mountain systems. Older than the Himalayas, the range plays a critical role in northern India’s ecology — acting as a barrier against the eastward spread of the Thar Desert, recharging groundwater aquifers, and moderating temperatures in a region increasingly affected by heatwaves and air pollution.
On November 20, 2025, the Supreme Court of India accepted a proposal from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to redefine what legally constitutes the Aravalli hills. Under this new definition, only landforms that rise at least 100 metres above the local ground level — along with their slopes and adjoining areas — will be recognised as part of the Aravalli range.
While the court ordered a temporary pause on new mining leases in the area, it made clear that only hills meeting this elevation threshold would qualify for long-term legal protection. This decision, described by the government as a move towards administrative uniformity across four states, has drawn sharp criticism from environmental experts who argue that it overlooks the geological and ecological continuity of the range.
The verdict was among the final judgments delivered by Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai before his retirement. In its aftermath, serious protests and rallies have emerged across India, reflecting growing anxiety over the future of one of the country’s most fragile ecological systems. Environmentalists are afraid that nearly the entire Aravalli system could now be exposed to mining and real estate development.
Against this backdrop, Global Voice’s contributor Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay spoke to Anuradha P Dhawan, also known as Anu PD, a fashion designer, environmental activist, and the co-founder of the Aravalli Bachao Citizens’ Movement. She outlines why campaigners believe the court’s decision poses serious risks to the environment and to communities that depend on the Aravallis.
Below are some excerpts from the interview:
Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay (AB): Before we move on to other questions, could you tell our readers a little about the Aravalli Bachao Citizens’ Movement? How did it all begin?
Anuradha P Dhawan (APD): The Aravalli Bachao Citizens’ Movement is a completely citizen-driven effort to protect the Aravallis from mining, real estate projects, illegal encroachments, landfills and the dilution of environmental laws. On February 24, 2025, residents of Gurugram learned that the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority was planning to construct a road cutting through the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, linking National Highway-48 with MG Road in Gurugram. This was a wake-up call for many of us who had been living in the city for a decade or more. Around 200 residents came together in response that day, and for the first time, the slogan “Aravalli Bachao” was raised. For many of us who had lived in the city for years, this was the first time we realised how vulnerable the Aravallis were and how little we actually knew about them.
As discussions began, we discovered that the Haryana government was also planning to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), a law over a century old that provided crucial protection to forested areas in Punjab and Haryana, including large parts of the Aravallis. The proposed amendment threatened to dilute these safeguards. At that point, it became clear that this was not just about one road, but about a systemic rollback of environmental protections.
On February 27, a small group of us gathered outside three metro stations in Gurugram, holding placards and speaking directly to the citizens about the proposed legal changes and their consequences. That same day, the Haryana Assembly passed the amendment. However, within 24 hours, the Supreme Court stayed its implementation. While it was a limited victory, it convinced us that sustained action was necessary.
That moment shaped the movement. Since then, thousands have joined to work on issues ranging from the NCR 2041 draft plan to forest protection nationwide. We see ourselves not as a formal organisation, but as a collective of citizens defending a shared ecological heritage.
AB: Was there any organised resistance on this issue prior to the Aravalli Bachao Citizens’ Movement, or was this the first initiative of its kind?
APD: Before Aravalli Bachao, there was no sustained, organised citizen resistance focused specifically on the Aravallis. While individuals and experts had long spoken about the range’s ecological importance in various forums, there had not been a collective, citizen-led effort working consistently on Aravalli-related issues. In that sense, the movement marked a first.
AB: Movements to protect the Aravalli range are not new. Why has the Supreme Court’s recent redefinition of the Aravalli hills triggered fresh protests now?
APD: Because people tend to ignore everything until it hits them in the lungs. For years, ecological damage was easy to look away because people were so involved in their day-to-day grind of roti, kapda and makaan (A popular Hindi phrase that signifies the fundamental needs for human survival: roti/food, kapda/cloth and a makaan/house), that it clearly didn’t bother them. Now, all of a sudden, when pollution had started to enter their homes, when people literally couldn’t breathe, when taps ran dry, when newborns were being taken to lung specialists and senior citizens to emergency rooms, they started realising the intensity of the damage.
The Supreme Court’s redefinition order landed at exactly this moment of collapse, and with this latest assault on Aravalli, we decided to leave no space for even one more day of delay. Delhi-NCR and the entire north Indian belt are already one of the most polluted and water-stressed regions in India. Being the biggest climate regulators of the entire northern India, the Aravallis recharge groundwater, act as a natural barrier against desertification, sustain an extraordinary range of biodiversity, and form the majority of the forest cover of the Delhi National Capital Region. Without it, we all will be doomed.
Yet recently, a senior television anchor claimed that Delhi’s polluted air cannot “escape” because of the Aravallis. In an age where mediocrity often replaces knowledge, this level of expertise sadly doesn’t surprise us. The encouraging part is that more people are finally beginning to understand why the Aravallis matter and are stepping forward to protect them.
AB: The Supreme Court banned mining in the Aravalli hills of Faridabad, Gurugram and Mewat in 2002 and again in 2009. Yet illegal mining continues. How is that happening?
APD: In 2020 and 2021, a group of us travelled deep into Haryana’s Mewat region. Officially, we went as trekkers and kept a low profile as we knew the risks. The three districts you mentioned are all no-mining zones, but on the ground, the reality is very different. We witnessed and recorded multiple instances of illegal mining in these areas. One of the biggest reasons this continues is the growing power of the mining mafia. About two years ago, a Deputy Superintendent of Police was killed after being run over by a Backhoe Loader while investigating illegal mining in Mewat. That incident alone shows how dangerous this issue has become. We’ve been working on this cause for a long time, and illegal activity is almost routine now. Blasting usually starts early in the morning and wraps up by around 10 a.m. Over time, illegal tracks have been carved out for tractors and trolleys, and even camels are used to transport material, especially in remote areas. That’s how mining continues despite the ban.
We filed cases and submitted video evidence, but nothing really moved. The legal process just drags on — hearings get postponed, dates keep changing, and the defence keeps asking for more time. It becomes an endless loop.
From the very beginning, our demands have been very basic. For example, a functional toll-free number where citizens can report illegal mining. Although there is a number that exists, it doesn’t work. And even when someone does pick up, complaints aren’t taken seriously.
Simple solutions like using drone surveillance to monitor mining hotspots haven’t been implemented either. Whether it’s the government, the court, or even the system as a whole, it feels like there is a collective unwillingness to protect the Aravallis despite being aware of the consequences.
AB: Environmental activists in India have often faced intimidation, harassment, and even arrest. Have members of the Aravalli Bachao Movement faced similar pressure? How do you view the recent crackdown on environmental activism in the country?
APD: A few years ago, some of us were detained by the police simply for standing silently outside a venue where the chief minister was expected. We had informed the police that we only intended to hand over a letter. There were 30–40 people, including students, holding placards. We deliberately avoid calling our actions “protests,” as we follow Gandhian principles of peaceful, non-confrontational activism. Despite this, one colleague was manhandled, and we were taken to the police station for about three hours.
Since then, we’ve received repeated calls from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), home visits, and questioning about our work and “intentions,” even for silent gatherings. While we’ve been fortunate that it hasn’t escalated further, the broader trend is worrying. Environmental activists, journalists, and dissenting voices are increasingly treated as threats. We stand in solidarity with others facing similar pressure, including Sonam Wangchuk and the Save Ladakh campaign.