The Aravalli Definition Dispute

In November 2025 the Supreme Court accepted, for the first time, a single national yardstick for what counts as an "Aravalli" hill or range: any landform rising 100 metres above the surrounding ground, meant to decide where mining can and cannot go. Weeks later, on 29 December 2025, the same court stayed its own order after environmentalists and opposition parties warned the threshold would leave much of the ancient range exposed, and set up a fresh expert committee. At stake is the green wall that holds back the Thar and shields Delhi-NCR.