New Delhi- On 20th November 2025, the Supreme Court passed a crucial judgement which put the 2 billion year old Aravalli range spread across the 5 states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh into an ‘Existential Crisis’. After widespread protests across the Aravalli region, with environmentalists and citizens voicing concerns that the shrinking of protection would open doors for unbridled mining, on 29.12.2025 the Supreme Court passed an order in a suo moto case that a High Powered Expert Committee will be formed to obtain a fair, impartial and independent expert opinion to review the October 2025 report given by a Committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The Court, vide its order dated 25.05.2026, constituted a fivemember committee comprising of the Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) as the ex officio Chairperson; and retired officials of Forest Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, MoEF&CC and a former Head of Botany at Delhi University as Members. The Court also directed that an officer of the rank of Director in the MoEF&CC would be nominated by the Government to serve as the Member Secretary.

Diwan Singh, Convenor, Ridge Bachao Andolan in Delhi said, “On the eve of the World Desertification Day, environmentalists, grassroot community leaders and retired bureaucrats from across the 700 km Aravalli range congregated in the national capital to express our grave concerns regarding the dismal health of North India’s lifeline for clean air, water and food security. Our concerns are reflected in the letter sent to the Chief Justice of India by the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, a broad coalition consisting of environmentalists, ecologists, community leaders, civil society groups, social activists, researchers, lawyers, rural and urban people living in the lap of the Aravalli states and across the country, demanding changes in the composition of the new committee formed to review the earlier 100 metre definition order of the Supreme Court and for expansion in its Terms of Reference to protect what is left of the highly vulnerable Aravallis. This letter dated 16th June has been endorsed by Jan Swaasthya Abhiyan India – a national network working on public health issues and 100+ rural and urban people living in the Aravalli states and citizens from Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Neelam Ahluwalia, an Environmentalist who has been spearheading the cause of saving the Aravallis for many years stated, “Submissions of the Amicus Curiae dated 24.02.2026 to the Supreme Court have raised serious concerns with the manner in which the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dealt with the Report of the Committee headed by the Secretary, MoEF&CC. The 22.09.2025 Forest Survey of India (FSI) Report submitted to the Secretary, MoEF&CC highlighting the importance of lower hills (under 100 metres) as a vital natural barrier against desertification was completely suppressed by the MoEF&CC. No mention of the FSI report was made in the affidavit filed by MoEF&CC dated 13.10.2025. MoEF&CC led committee defined the ‘Aravalli hills’ solely on the basis of height, disregarding FSI’s opinion on the importance of lower lying hills. Also, a big matter of concern is that the total number of Aravalli districts according to the Forest Survey of India (FSI report dated 22.09.2025) is 63 whereas the MoEF&CC led committee in its affidavit to the Supreme Court dated 13.10.2025 only mentions 37 Aravalli districts omitting prominent Aravalli districts in Rajasthan such as Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur, Karauli, Bundi etc. Citizens demand that the Supreme Court undertake a full inquiry into the conduct of the officials of MoEF&CC as brought out in the Amicus report dated 24.02.2026 with respect to suppression of the September 2025 Forest Survey of India report, reducing the number of Aravalli districts substantially and other irregularities and accountability be fixed for the same. Also, we would like the Supreme Court and the new committee to include in its study all 64 districts of the Aravalli range comprising of 63 districts across the 5 states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi as mentioned in the FSI report dated 22.09.2025 and an additional district of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh where Govardhan Parvat, a sacred hill forming an outline spur of the Aravalli range is situated.”

Prakriti Srivastava, a Retired IFS Officer who has served as the Deputy Inspector General of Forests (Wildlife) in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated, “The so called High Powered Committee formed by the Supreme Court in the end of May 2026 is neither High Powered, nor impartial nor independent. It is a settled position of law that the body reviewing any previous decision must be of higher rank and expertise than the earlier body. The earlier Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Committee whose report regarding the uniform Aravalli definition that needs to be re-examined was headed by the Secretary, MoEF&CC. Both the Chairperson (Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education) and the Member Secretary of the new High Powered Committee are lower in rank, status and power as compared to the earlier MoEF&CC Committee. The Board of Governors of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is headed by the Secretary, MOEF&CC and the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the President of ICFRE. The new High Powered Committee formed vide order dated 25.05.2026 of the Supreme Court, if continued to be headed by an official who reports directly to the Secretary as well as Minister of MoEF&CC will not satisfy the criteria of either ‘impartiality’ or ‘independence’ nor being ‘high’ in terms of either power, status or rank as stated in the 29.12.2025 SC suo moto order. This is highly inappropriate and totally unacceptable in the interest of justice to the Aravallis.”

Lokesh Bhiwani, Climate Activist and Member of the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan from Haryana said, “Since the present committee has been directed to evaluate the October 2025 report which was prepared by a committee headed by the Secretary, MoEF&CC, an independent and unbiased review of the earlier report cannot be undertaken under the aegis of the MoEF&CC for fear of conflict. To obtain a fair, impartial, independent expert opinion to protect the highly vulnerable Aravalli range and to make the new committee in reality a High Powered Expert Committee, we demand that that the Supreme Court order dated 25.05.2026 be modified such that the Chairperson and Member Secretary of the new committee should not be a serving officer of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) or any of its autonomous councils, bodies or authorities. An independent expert (environmentalist, ecologist or scientist) with domain knowledge of the Aravalli region who does not report to the MoEF&CC in any way must be appointed as the Chairperson of the new committee. It is essential that the choice of Chairperson and Members should not be confined to a majority of serving or retired officials but must be headed by and composed of specialists who are environmentalists, ecologists, scientists, hydrologists, public health and livelihood experts. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has in the past appointed eminent scientists and independent domain experts to head various High Powered Committees (HPCs) like the distinguished scientist Dr Ravi Chopra was appointed as Chairperson in 2019 on the HPC formed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Char Dham Project in the Himalayan region and eminent physicist Prof. M.G.K. Menon was appointed in 1997 as Head of the HPC constituted to formulate a comprehensive regulatory framework regarding hazardous waste management. The matter concerning the preservation and conservation of the Aravallis requires a similar approach where the choice of members including the Chairperson should not be confined to only serving or retired government officers. Secondly, additional members must be appointed in the new committee who have expertise on health issues, occupational issues including traditional livelihoods (agriculture and cattle rearing), ecology, wildlife, hydrology etc to examine the impacts arising out of mining and related activities across the Aravalli region holistically. The same cannot be done effectively by inviting experts or interaction with them. The domain experts must be made an integral part of the new committee so that the report is comprehensive and presents the true costs of mining and other related activities. Also, the Report of the new committee must be submitted directly to the Supreme Court, and not through or via the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or any other Ministry or Department of the Government of India.”

Sadhna Meena, Grassroot Bhil Adivasi Leader from South Rajasthan who works with mining affected communities said, “Citizens demand a participatory, in person interaction and transparent process of public consultation by the new committee, and not one that is merely limited to inviting representations on email or by post. The committee must visit all mining affected villages across Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat to see and examine the impacts of mining and have meaningful consultations with communities whose lives have been made a living hell as a result of blasting, mining and stone crushing activities taking place barely a few metres away from their homes and agricultural fields. To enable the new committee to meaningfully engage with mining affected communities in every Aravalli district according to the FSI report 2025 and examine the ground reality, the committee would certainly not be able to submit a comprehensive report by 31.08.2026. The date of submission of the report by the new committee must be extended.”

Durga Shanker, Social Activist from Pratapgarh district in South East Rajasthan stated, “We urge the new committee to direct that an independent and cumulative social, health and environmental impact study of the entire Aravalli range is carried out to ascertain the extent of damage already done to the forests, rivers, groundwater, aquifers, surface water bodies, traditional livelihoods such as cattle rearing and agriculture, public health by mining, stone crushing, dust washing plants as well as real estate, encroachments, waste dumping and burning over the past 50 years. This study must be undertaken with the assistance of appropriate national level expert institutions and individual experts in the fields of hydrology, ecology, wildlife, environmental and social sciences, occupational health along with representatives of civil society. This was the approach adopted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in mining matters in the ecologically sensitive areas in Goa, Karnataka and Odisha. Also, accountability must be fixed on mining entities and responsible government authorities for silicosis and other diseases and disabilities suffered by mine workers and local residents in accordance with the ‘Polluter-Pays Principle’ in light of the widespread health and livelihood impacts associated with mining and stone crushing in the Aravallis. Wherever mining is being carried out next to human habitation across the Aravalli region, residents suffer from skin, liver, lung, and kidney-related ailments such as Asthma, Tuberculosis and the fatal Silicosis.”

Kailash Meena who has been leading the resistance against illegal mining in North Rajasthan for 3 decades said, “It is imperative for the new committee to review the rules of the different Aravalli states with respect to water extractive activities such as mining and dust washing plants being permitted in blocks which are already water scarce. Review is also required of conditions in the existing Environmental Clearance documents of licensed mines in the Aravalli belt which state that ‘mining operations should not intersect ground water table but if done it should be with permission of the Central Ground Water Authority’. Such practices are resulting in the ground water levels falling to dangerously low levels across the Aravalli range and the heavy price is being paid by rural communities who do not have water left for drinking or irrigating their fields. The new committee must also examine compliance by existing small and big licensed operators across the Aravalli range who are carrying out mining, stone crushing, dust washing and other allied activities. Most of the existing leases across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana are flouting norms and the high cost is being paid by the Aravalli ecosystem and its people, cattle and wildlife. All licensed mining and stone crushing activities operating in violation of different laws must be shut down and the operators must be made liable for the damages according to the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’.

The letter sent by the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan to the Chief Justice of India also mentions in citizens’ demands that the the government should be directed to mainstream alternative building materials so the use of virgin stone mined from the Aravalli hills across Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat is stopped. The regressive uniform definition of the Aravallis accepted by the 20th November 2025 Supreme Court order must be scrapped and the what is left of the 700 km Aravalli range should be declared a ‘Critical Ecological Zone’ based on its significance for the eco-system services the range provides for millions of people living in North West India and to protect the home of our precious wildlife.