New Delhi/Kolkata: Asserting that 90 per cent of the Aravalli region will remain protected, the Centre Sunday rejected claims that the new definition of the Aravalli range will allow large-scale mining and cited a Supreme Court-ordered freeze on new mining leases in the region.
It said a Supreme Court-approved framework provides for stronger protection of the mountain system and places a freeze on new mining leases until a comprehensive management plan is finalised.
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the SC-approved definition will bring more than 90 per cent of the Aravalli region under protected area.
Replying to queries from mediapersons after a meeting on Project Elephant and the National Tiger Conservation Authority in the Sundarbans of West Bengal, Yadav also emphasised that no relaxation has been granted with regard to the protection of the Aravalli region and claimed lies have been spread on the issue.
Stop spreading misinformation! he said in a post on X, amid allegations by the Congress and others that the step will destroy the Aravallis.
In the total area of 1.44 lakh square kilometres of the Aravalli, mining eligibility can only be in 0.19 per cent of the area. The rest of the entire Aravalli is preserved and protected, said Yadav, the Union minister for environment, forest and climate change.
The Supreme Court, November 20, 2025, accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges.
According to the new definition, Aravalli Hill is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief and an Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
The government, however, asserted that it is incorrect to conclude that all landforms below 100 metres are open for mining.
In an explanation issued amid the controversy over the 100-metre criterion, the government rejected claims that mining had been permitted in areas below 100 metres and said the restriction applies to entire hill systems and their enclosed landforms and not merely to the hill peak or slope.
It said the definition of the Aravalli hills and range has been standardised across states on the directions of the Supreme Court to remove ambiguity and prevent misuse, particularly practices that allowed mining to continue dangerously close to hill bases.
Sources in the Environment Ministry said the Supreme Court, while hearing long-pending cases on illegal mining in the Aravallis, had constituted a committee in May 2024 to recommend a uniform definition, as different states were following inconsistent criteria while granting mining permissions.
The committee, chaired by the Environment Ministry Secretary and comprising representatives from Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi along with technical bodies, found that only Rajasthan had a formally established definition, which it has been following since 2006.
That definition treats landforms rising 100 metres or more above local relief as hills and prohibits mining within the lowest bounding contour enclosing such hills, irrespective of the height or slope of landforms inside the contour, they said.
People have created confusion that you can mine below the 100 metre elevation in a hill, but it is not so… .The bottom area will be protected. And if there is a gap of 500 metres between two hills, then that area will also be considered part of the range. After this definition, more than 90 per cent of the area will be protected, Yadav said.
The minister asserted that the government has taken a number of steps like the ‘Green Aravalli’ movement for the preservation of the mountain range and is committed to their protection. Lies are being spread on the (definition) issue, he alleged.
The sources said all four states agreed to adopt this long-standing Rajasthan definition, along with additional safeguards to make it objective and transparent.
These include treating hills located within 500 metres of each other as a single range, mandatory mapping of hills and ranges on Survey of India maps before any mining decision and clear identification of core and inviolate areas where mining is prohibited.
The government said the apex court has accepted the committee’s recommendation to prohibit mining in core and inviolate areas, including protected areas, eco-sensitive zones, tiger reserves, wetlands and areas close to such sites, while allowing limited exemptions only for critical, strategic and deep-seated minerals in national interest.
According to the Supreme Court’s directions, no new mining leases will be granted in the Aravalli region until a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining is prepared for the entire landscape by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
Existing mines may continue operations only if they strictly comply with sustainable mining norms laid down by the committee.
The government said district-level analysis across Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat shows that legally approved mining currently covers only a very small fraction of the Aravalli region, amounting to about 0.19 per cent of the total geographical area of 37 Aravalli districts.
Delhi, which has five Aravalli districts, does not permit any mining.
The government said the primary threat to the Aravallis remains illegal and unregulated mining, and the committee has recommended stronger monitoring, enforcement and use of technology such as drones and surveillance to address this issue.