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Relevance: GS Paper III — Environment, Conservation & Biodiversity Source: The Hindu / Supreme Court Orders, 2026

1 · What happened

The Supreme Court (SC) has constituted a five-member High-Powered Committee (HPC) to evolve a uniform, scientific definition of the ecologically fragile Aravalli range. The report is due by August 31, 2026.

This follows the SC’s suo motu cognisance in December 2025, which froze new mining leases and put on hold an October 2025 MoEFCC report that critics say would have stripped nearly 90% of Aravalli hills of legal protection.

2 · The Aravalli Definition Controversy

The Aravalli range is one of the world’s oldest fold mountain systems, stretching ~670 km from Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Delhi, and acts as the principal natural barrier against the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert.

Institutional Anchor
SC’s High-Powered Committee
Five-member panel chaired by Kanchan Devi, DG of ICFRE. Mandate: scientifically resolve the definition, test height/distance thresholds, and identify regulatory loopholes. Report due August 31, 2026.
Resolution
Aravalli Green Wall Project
Launched in 2023 by MoEFCC, inspired by Africa’s Great Green Wall. Aims at a continuous green barrier across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi — restoring forests, water bodies and combating desertification.
Mechanism (Disputed)
100-Metre & 500-Metre Rule
MoEFCC’s October 2025 report defines Aravalli hills as those rising ≥100 m above local terrain, with two or more hills within 500 m of each other to form a “range”.
Threat
~90% Exclusion Risk
FSI and amicus curiae warn the 100 m threshold would exclude ~90% of Aravalli hills from protection — only 1,048 of Rajasthan’s 12,081 hills qualify — enabling unregulated mining in the gaps.

  • Ecological function: Aravallis are the “green lung” of northwestern India and block eastward advance of the Thar Desert into the Indo-Gangetic plains.
  • Optics concern: ICFRE is an autonomous body under MoEFCC — the very ministry whose 2025 report is under review, raising conflict-of-interest flags.
  • MPSM directive: SC has barred new mining leases until MoEFCC, through ICFRE, prepares a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining for the entire Aravalli ridge.

UPSC Value Box
Aravalli Range One of the world’s oldest fold mountain systems, ~670 km long, traversing Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. Natural barrier against the Thar Desert.
Suo Motu Cognisance Power of the SC to take up a matter on its own motion under Article 32 / Article 142, without a formal petition — invoked here in December 2025.
ICFRE Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education — autonomous body under MoEFCC, headquartered at Dehradun. Apex forestry research institution; its DG chairs the new HPC.
Amicus Curiae Latin for “friend of the court” — a neutral expert/lawyer who assists the court on issues of law or fact in public interest matters.
Forest Survey of India (FSI) Subordinate office of MoEFCC, Dehradun. Publishes the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR) on forest cover assessment.
Aravalli Green Wall Project MoEFCC initiative (2023) inspired by Africa’s Great Green Wall — green ecological barrier across the Aravalli landscape covering 4 states to combat desertification.
MPSM Management Plan for Sustainable Mining — directed by SC for the entire Aravalli ridge; precondition for grant of any new mining leases.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to the Aravalli range and its conservation, consider the following statements:

  1. The Aravallis are among the oldest fold mountain systems in the world and traverse the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  2. The Aravalli Green Wall Project was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and is inspired by the Sahara Forest Project of Saudi Arabia.
  3. The High-Powered Committee recently constituted by the Supreme Court to define the Aravalli range is chaired by the Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 2 and 3 only    (c) 1 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: The Aravallis are among the world’s oldest fold mountain systems, stretching ~670 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): The Aravalli Green Wall Project (2023) was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) — not the Ministry of Agriculture. Its inspiration is Africa’s Great Green Wall, not any Saudi initiative.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The five-member HPC is chaired by Kanchan Devi, Director General of ICFRE, with a mandate to submit a scientific definition by August 31, 2026.

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