Supreme Court considers greater public participation in defining Aravalli

Aerial view of Aravalli range. | Photo credit: ANI

The Supreme Court on Monday (May 25, 2026) said that the expert committee to be set up to define the Aravalli Hills and Range must ensure greater public participation through consultation with domain experts and stakeholders.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was responding to Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati’s submission that the Central Empowered Committee and amicus curiae, senior advocate K. Parameshwar, had given joint names to be included in the expert panel.

The court said the panel should not become unwieldy with too many members, rather it should be functional and work broadly with industry experts.

Also read | Supreme Court suspends its own judgment defining Aravalli, high-powered panel reconsiders

The Supreme Court intends to let an expert team not only define the Aravalli but also draw a road map of permissible activities, including the issue of regulated mining in one of the world’s oldest and ecologically sensitive mountain systems.

The court said the committee would consist of experts from “various walks of life” such as environmentalists, scientists, foresters and “specialists in regulated mining wherever permitted by law”.

Chief Justice Kant said the experts will work “under the auspices” of the Supreme Court, under the direct supervision and control of the court.

Also read | The environment ministry approves the names of the 10-member expert committee set up to define the Aravalli Hills

A previous Supreme Court judgment in November 2025, which upheld the definition of the Aravalli by a government committee, had led to public outcry and concerns about the ecological safety of the range. This definition reduced the Aravalli to elevations of 100 meters or more and clusters of hills, slopes and knolls located within 500 meters of each other.

However, the court had to set aside this judgment after taking up the case again suo motu. It found that only 1,048 Aravalli hills out of a total of 12,081 in Rajasthan alone would meet the 100 meter elevation and as a result the lower ranges would be “taken away” for environmental protection and exposed to unregulated mining. The court agreed that this would be a “significant regulatory loophole” in protecting the Aravalli.

“This stay will remain in effect until this proceeding reaches a state of logical finality, which will ensure that no irreversible administrative or environmental action is taken under the current framework,” the court ordered on December 29.

Also read | The Aravalli hills shake with the sound of machinery

It also banned new or renewed mining contracts in the Aravalli region without prior permission from the apex court.

Published – 25 May 2026 21:20 IST