Explained: The Battle For India’s Ancient Shield; Why #SaveAravalli Is Taking Over the Streets?

From Haryana to Rajasthan, students, activists, environmentalists and common citizens are hitting the streets and roads, and running a social media campaign to save the Aravalli Hills. Social Media platforms like Instagram, X and Facebook are flooded with posts and hashtags of the #SaveAravalli.

This might be pushing you to think why all of a sudden the protests and campaigns surfaced across the states? Does it concern you, or is it limited to Rajasthan and adjacent districts only?

Before I begin explaining the whole scenario, first let’s understand the Aravalli and its significance in the ecology of the states, including Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan and the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

More than 2 billion years old, the Aravalli Hills, which span 800 kilometres, are considered the Lifeline of North India that acting as an ecological barrier, preventing the Thar Desert from expanding in North India and hindering heatwaves and dust storms from reaching Delhi, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.

It also acts as a barrier for the fertile fields of Rajasthan, the Indo-Gangetic plains, from the Thar desert sands.

Scientists believe that if this mountain range did not exist, the northern region of India would have begun to transform into a desert. The Aravalli range also recharges groundwater, provides a habitat for forests and wildlife, and supplies breathable air to millions of people.

What Is The Latest Controversy?

The Supreme Court found that different states are using varying standards to identify the Aravalli mountain range. Even expert groups, including the Forest Survey of India (FSI), are defining the Aravalli range using different criteria.

In 2010, the FSI had stated that only those hills with a slope greater than three degrees, an elevation above 100 meters, and a distance of 500 meters between two hills would be considered part of the Aravalli range. However, many high hills did not meet these criteria.

Following this, the Supreme Court constituted another committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Environment, FSI, state forest departments, the Geological Survey of India (GSI), and its own committee.

This committee was tasked with defining the Aravalli range. Finally, in 2025, this committee submitted its report to the Supreme Court.

On November 20, the Supreme Court accepted the committee’s report, which stated that only hills higher than 100 meters would now be considered part of the Aravalli mountain range.

What If The Standards Are Applied?

Of the Aravalli range’s total area of ​​over 800 kilometres, more than 550 kilometres fall within Rajasthan. Experts say that the Aravalli is not just a matter of altitude, but a complete ecosystem. According to government and technical studies, approximately 90 per cent of the hills in the Aravalli range located in Rajasthan do not meet the 100-meter height requirement.

This means that only 8 to 10 per cent of the hills in the state will be legally considered part of the ‘Aravalli range,’ while the remaining approximately 90 per cent could fall outside the purview of conservation laws.

Environmentalists and activists are concerned about the judgment, saying this will pave the way for mining for industrialists. They fear that if the Aravalli Ecosystem weakens further, the Thar Desert will expand.

Subsequently will lead to:

• Groundwater levels drop, and borewells will dry up
• The heat will become more intense.
• Health problems (respiratory illnesses, etc.) will increase.
• People may be forced to migrate as the area becomes less habitable

Now, environmentalists and the opposition have launched a major campaign on this issue. The ‘Save Aravalli’ campaign has begun across the country. The former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed concern, stating that if the situation is so serious even with the Aravalli range intact, the prospect of what it would be like without the Aravallis is terrifying.

Joining the campaign, NSUI Rajasthan state president Vinod Jakhar announced that NSUI will take to the streets to protest against the government’s decisions regarding the Aravalli mountain range. The organisation will hold an ‘Aravalli Bachao’ (Save Aravalli) march in Jaipur on December 26th at 11 AM.

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