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Aravalli Latest News: The government refuted the claim of allowing mining in areas at a height of less than 100 meters and said that this ban applies to the entire hill system and all the landforms within it, not just the summit or slopes. The government said that it is wrong to assume that all places with a height of less than 100 meters are open for mining.
New Delhi. The central government on Sunday refuted reports that the definition of the Aravalli ranges has been changed to allow large-scale mining. The government said that the Supreme Court has banned new mining leases in the Aravali region. It said that the definition set by the Supreme Court strengthens the protection of the mountain area and until a new management plan is made, there will be a ban on new mining leases. Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said that as per the definition of the Supreme Court, more than 90% of Aravali will come under protected area.
On the ongoing controversy over the ‘100 meter’ rule, the government said that on the instructions of the Supreme Court, the definition of Aravalli hills has been made uniform in all the states so that there is no confusion or misuse, especially in cases where mining was going on near the hills. Sources in the Environment Ministry said that the Supreme Court, while hearing the old cases related to illegal mining in Aravali, had formed a committee in May 2024, which should suggest a uniform definition. This committee also includes people from technical institutions along with Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi. The committee found that only in Rajasthan there is a fixed definition since 2006.
According to this definition, a landform that is 100 meters or more higher than the surrounding land is considered a hill and mining is prohibited within the lowest limit of such hills, regardless of height or slope. According to sources, all four states have agreed to adopt this definition of Rajasthan and some more security measures have also been added to it for transparency. These measures include considering the hills within 500 meters as a single range, marking the hills on Survey of India maps before mining and identifying core and protected areas.
The government refuted the claim of allowing mining in areas below 100 meters altitude and said the ban applies to the entire hill system and all landforms within it, not just the summit or slopes. The government said that it is wrong to assume that all places with a height of less than 100 meters are open for mining. On 20 November 2025, the Supreme Court had accepted the recommendations of the Environment Ministry’s committee regarding the definition of the Aravalli Hills.
