Dismantling the Aravallis: Ecology, State Power and the Political Economy of Environmental Destruction

 

-Ramphal Kataria

Old Mountains, New Laws: Judicial Reasoning and the Ecological Fate of the Aravallis

Abstract

The Aravalli Range, one of the oldest surviving mountain systems in the world, plays a foundational role in the ecological, hydrological, and climatic stability of north-western India. Despite early judicial recognition of its importance, the range has been steadily degraded through mining, urban expansion, and administrative reclassification. This article examines the geological origins and ecological functions of the Aravallis, situates them within India’s civilizational history, and critically analyses the role of successive governments and judicial institutions in enabling their fragmentation. Focusing on the Supreme Court’s 2025 height-based definition of the Aravallis and its subsequent stay, the article argues that the destruction of the range reflects a deeper failure of environmental governance rooted in extractive political economy and technocratic legal reasoning divorced from ecological science.

1. Introduction

The relationship between natural resources and state power has long shaped the trajectory of civilizations. In contemporary India, this relationship has acquired renewed urgency as ecological systems are increasingly subordinated to extractive development models. The Aravalli Range—among the world’s oldest mountain systems—provides a critical lens through which to examine this contradiction.

Stretching across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, the Aravallis function as a climatic barrier, groundwater recharge zone, and biodiversity corridor sustaining a vast population. Yet, despite repeated judicial interventions and scientific warnings, the range has been progressively dismantled through mining, real estate expansion, and administrative erasure. This article argues that the degradation of the Aravallis is not an accidental by-product of development but the outcome of sustained institutional failure, where state policy, market interests, and judicial ambivalence converge.

2. Geological Genesis and Physical Character

The Aravalli Range originated during the Proterozoic Eon (approximately 1.8–2.5 billion years ago) through the Aravalli–Delhi Orogeny, when ancient continental blocks—the Marwar and Bundelkhand cratons—collided.¹ Once towering fold mountains, they have been reduced by prolonged erosion to residual ranges, with Guru Shikhar (1,722 m) on Mount Abu as the highest surviving peak.

The range is composed primarily of metamorphic and igneous rocks—gneiss, quartzite, schist, granite, and marble—formed under extreme pressure and temperature. The Malani Igneous Suite, among the largest volcanic provinces globally, underscores the geological uniqueness of the region and has been designated a National Geological Monument.²

Unlike the Himalayas, which continue to rise due to active tectonics, the Aravallis are tectonically stable. Their significance therefore lies not in elevation but in continuity, permeability, and hydrological function—characteristics that render them particularly vulnerable to fragmentation-based legal definitions.

3. Geographical and Ecological Significance

Extending roughly 670–800 km in a northeast–southwest direction, the Aravallis form a natural divide between the Thar Desert and the Indo-Gangetic plains. Their ecological functions are multiple and interdependent.

First, the range acts as a barrier against desertification by reducing wind velocity and preventing the eastward movement of sand from the Thar Desert.³ Second, it constitutes a major groundwater recharge zone, particularly for the Delhi-NCR region, with recharge rates estimated at up to two million litres per hectare annually.⁴ Third, several rivers—including the Luni, Banas, Sahibi, and Sabarmati—originate in the Aravallis, linking the range directly to downstream water security.

The Aravallis also support dry deciduous forests, scrublands, wetlands, and grasslands that function as wildlife corridors for species such as leopards, hyenas, jackals, and sloth bears. Studies by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) establish a clear correlation between degradation of the range and increased dust storms, declining air quality, groundwater depletion, and rising human–wildlife conflict in adjoining regions.⁵

4. Civilizational and Historical Context

Archaeological evidence situates the Aravallis at the centre of early metallurgical and settlement activity in the subcontinent. Copper mining in the region dates back to at least the fourth millennium BCE, supplying metal to Indus Valley sites such as Kalibangan, Kunal, and Ahar.⁶ Excavations in Tosham and Khanak (Haryana) have revealed furnaces, slag, crucibles, and semi-precious bead industries, indicating advanced metallurgical practices and organised resource extraction.⁷

Historically, the rugged terrain of the Aravallis enabled the construction of strategic fortifications such as Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh, while sites like Pushkar and Mount Abu reflect the range’s enduring spiritual significance. The mountains thus represent a long-standing interface between ecology, economy, and culture—an interface increasingly destabilised in the contemporary period.

5. Mining, Encroachment and Administrative Dilution

Despite early recognition of their importance, the Aravallis have been subjected to sustained exploitation. Mining for limestone, marble, granite, and metals expanded rapidly during both colonial and post-colonial periods. Although the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued restrictions under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986—most notably the 1992 notification limiting mining in Haryana—implementation has remained inconsistent.⁸

Judicial interventions by the Supreme Court in 2003, 2004, and 2009 reaffirmed mining bans and invoked the precautionary principle.⁹ However, these orders were systematically undermined through administrative practices such as non-notification of forest land, manipulation of revenue records, and selective enforcement. In Haryana, large sections of the Aravallis remain legally unclassified, rendering them vulnerable to real estate expansion and industrial use.

A 2018 assessment documented the complete disappearance of 31 hills in Rajasthan due to illegal quarrying, highlighting the irreversible nature of the damage already inflicted.¹⁰ The persistence of such destruction despite judicial prohibitions points to a governance failure rather than regulatory absence.

6. Judicial Redefinition and the 100-Metre Controversy

In November 2025, the Supreme Court adopted a height-based definition of the Aravalli Hills as landforms rising at least 100 metres above local relief. Environmental groups and geologists argued that this criterion ignored geological continuity and ecological function, potentially stripping legal protection from nearly 90% of the range due to its ancient, eroded character.¹¹

Following widespread public opposition, the Court stayed its own order in December 2025, constituted a high-powered expert committee, and imposed a freeze on new mining leases pending the preparation of a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM).¹² As of January 2026, the ban remains in force.

This episode exposes a recurring tension in Indian environmental jurisprudence: reliance on technocratic and reductionist definitions that prioritise administrative clarity over ecological science, often necessitating corrective intervention after substantial damage has already occurred.

7. Ecological and Social Consequences

The degradation of the Aravallis has produced cascading ecological and social impacts. Groundwater levels in mining-intensive zones have declined by 10–15 metres, exacerbating water scarcity across Haryana and Rajasthan.¹³ Loss of vegetative cover has intensified dust storms and worsened air quality in Delhi-NCR, contributing to respiratory illnesses, including silicosis, among mining-affected communities.¹⁴

Habitat fragmentation threatens biodiversity and disrupts wildlife corridors, while unchecked urbanisation heightens human–wildlife conflict. These outcomes collectively undermine the ecological resilience of north-western India and increase vulnerability to climate extremes.

8. Conclusion

The dismantling of the Aravalli Range reflects not a failure of scientific knowledge but a failure of governance. Successive governments have prioritised extractive growth and short-term revenue over ecological sustainability, while judicial interventions have remained episodic and largely reactive. Height-based legal classifications and fragmented enforcement mechanisms have enabled the systematic erosion of one of India’s most critical ecological systems.

Effective protection of the Aravallis requires a shift from reductionist definitions to landscape-level ecological governance, the establishment of a statutory conservation authority, and accountability for past violations. The fate of the Aravallis ultimately raises a broader question: whether India’s development trajectory can reconcile economic growth with the preservation of the ecological foundations upon which that growth depends.

References

1.     Valdiya, K S (2016): The Making of India: Geodynamic Evolution, Springer.

2.     Geological Survey of India (2019): “National Geological Monuments of India.”

3.     Central Arid Zone Research Institute (2018): Desertification and Wind Erosion in North-West India.

4.     Central Ground Water Board (2020): Groundwater Recharge Assessment for NCR.

5.     Wildlife Institute of India (2018): Impact of Land-Use Change in the Aravalli Landscape.

6.     Possehl, G L (2002): The Indus Civilization, AltaMira Press.

7.     Singh, R N et al (2017): “Copper Mining and Metallurgy in the Tosham Hills,” Indian Archaeology Review.

8.     Ministry of Environment and Forests (1992): Notification under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

9.     M C Mehta v Union of India, Supreme Court Orders (2003, 2004, 2009).

10.  Centre for Science and Environment (2018): Rajasthan’s Vanishing Hills.

11.  Supreme Court of India (2025): Order dated November 2025 on Aravalli definition.

12.  Supreme Court of India (2025): Order dated December 2025 staying earlier definition.

13.  Central Ground Water Board (2021): Groundwater Depletion in Mining Regions.

14.  National Institute of Occupational Health (2019): Silicosis among Mine Workers in North India.