The Aravalli Hills Range extends approximately 692 kilometers across northwestern India from Palanpur in Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana to Delhi. As one of Earth’s oldest fold mountain systems, dating between 1.8 to 3.2 billion years to the Proterozoic era, these ancient mountains have witnessed Earth’s geological transformations long before the Himalayas emerged 40-50 million years ago. Yet today, the Aravallis face an existential crisis. Between 1975 and 2019, nearly 8 percent of the range, approximately 5,772.7 square kilometers, has vanished entirely. More alarmingly, over 25 percent of the Aravallis and 31 complete hill ranges in Rajasthan have disappeared due to illegal quarrying alone, transforming what should be a protective barrier into a fractured landscape vulnerable to desertification.
Quantifying Ecological Degradation
The numbers paint a stark picture of systematic destruction. Forest cover in the central Aravalli range plummeted by 32 percent between 1975 and 2019, with the deforestation rate averaging 0.57 percent annually during this period. From 1999 to 2019, forest area decreased by 0.9 percent of total area, dropping from 29,915 square kilometers. In Haryana specifically, a state with India’s lowest forest cover at merely 3.59 percent, the Aravallis constitute the principal green cover, making their degradation particularly catastrophic for regional ecology.
The loss manifests geographically through 12 identified gaps in the mountain barrier extending from Magra hills in Ajmer district to Mahendragarh district in Haryana. These breaches allow desert sand to drift northeastward, documented through satellite imagery analysis from 1972 to 2007. The Wildlife Institute of India confirmed in 2017 that these vegetative gaps directly increase the risk of areas beneath them transforming into Thar Desert extensions, accelerating desertification toward the National Capital Region.
Human settlements expanded dramatically from 4.5 percent in 1975 to 13.3 percent in 2019 across the Aravalli landscape. This 196 percent increase in urbanization directly correlates with habitat fragmentation. Approximately 3,676 square kilometers converted to barren land while 776.8 square kilometers became settlements during this 44-year period, representing irreversible ecological transformation.
Biodiversity Under Siege
Despite degradation, the Aravallis sustain remarkable biodiversity that underscores what remains at stake. The ecosystem supports over 400 species of native trees, shrubs, grasses, and herbs. Fauna includes more than 200 native and migratory bird species, 100-plus butterfly species, 20-plus reptile species, and approximately 20 mammal species. The 2017 Wildlife Institute of India survey across 200 square kilometers in five Haryana districts documented 14 mammal species including leopards, striped hyenas with 7 sightings, golden jackals with 9 sightings showing 92 percent occupancy, nilgai with 55 sightings, and Indian crested porcupines with 12 sightings.
The Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram exemplifies restoration potential. This 392-acre former mining wasteland now hosts approximately 209 bird species, 19 mammal species, 113 butterfly and moth species, and 981 plant species. Over 160 native plant species have been systematically raised and planted, demonstrating that ecological recovery remains possible with sustained intervention. The park achieved recognition as India’s first OECM site in 2022, validating community-driven conservation approaches.
However, biodiversity loss accelerates elsewhere. Rivers originating in the Aravallis including Banas, Luni, Sahibi, and Sakhi have died or severely degraded. Water bodies expanded from 1.7 percent in 1975 to 1.9 percent in 1989 but subsequently declined steadily. Mining operations punctured aquifers to great depths, disturbing natural water flow, drying lakes, and creating artificial water bodies in mining depressions, fundamentally altering hydrological systems that evolved over billions of years.
The Mining Crisis and Policy Failures
Illegal mining constitutes the primary destruction mechanism. Despite the 1992 Ministry of Environment notification prohibiting new industries, mining, and construction without central permission, and subsequent Supreme Court bans in 2002, 2004, and 2009, enforcement failures persist. In 2018, the Haryana legislative assembly controversially amended the Punjab Land Preservation Act, removing several hills from “restricted area” classification, potentially opening 63,000 acres for construction and mining while attempting to legitimize existing illegal constructions.
Mining’s environmental impact extends beyond direct land removal. Stone crushers and blasting operations generate severe air pollution, causing respiratory diseases including silicosis among nearby populations. Mining contributes substantially to Delhi-NCR’s particulate matter pollution, with dust storms from degraded Aravalli areas contributing approximately 40 percent of Delhi’s PM2.5 levels during summer months. The forest cover decline from 4.30 percent in 1999 to 3.30 percent in 2012 across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan directly correlates with increased dust storm intensity.
The 2025 Supreme Court decision accepting a narrowed technical definition of “Aravalli Hills” threatens to exclude approximately 90 percent of the range from protection, potentially legalizing mining on lower-elevation ridges, foothills, and corridors that ecologists identify as crucial for groundwater recharge and wildlife movement. The definition dispute centers on a critical distinction: environmental activists calculate that 90 percent of individual hills and hillocks fall below the 100-meter local relief requirement and will lose protection, while the government maintains that 90 percent of the total geographic area stays protected. Both sides cite the same percentage to support opposite conclusions, revealing fundamental disagreement about what constitutes the ‘Aravalli range’ worthy of conservation. Scientific studies emphasize that ecological functions, including moisture retention, wind moderation, and rainfall regulation, occur across gentle slopes and lower rises, not exclusively on peaks exceeding 100 meters local relief as the new definition specifies.
The Aravalli Green Wall Project: Ambition Versus Reality
Launched in March 2023, the Aravalli Green Wall Project represents India’s most ambitious restoration initiative. Modeled on Africa’s Great Green Wall, the project envisions creating a 1,400-kilometer-long, 5-kilometer-wide green belt across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi covering the 6 million hectare Aravalli landscape. Initial phase targets include rejuvenating 75 water bodies, beginning with five water bodies in each district, focusing particularly on Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh, and Rewari districts in Haryana.
The project’s quantified objectives include restoring 1.15 million hectares of degraded land by 2027, planting 50 million native trees including species like Arjuna, Dhau, Khejri, and Banyan, and implementing rainwater harvesting with check dams across 20-plus wetlands. The initiative aims to prevent eastward Thar Desert expansion, enhance carbon sequestration, and create sustainable livelihoods through agroforestry and pasture development while generating employment for local communities.
However, implementation faces formidable challenges. Land acquisition encounters obstacles from fragmented holdings, unclear titles, and extensive encroachments, particularly in Rajasthan and Haryana. Water scarcity poses critical constraints. The region receives merely 450 millimeters of annual rainfall while groundwater levels decline by 1-1.5 meters annually according to Central Ground Water Board data. Rajasthan’s per capita water availability falls below 500 cubic meters, indicating absolute water scarcity, making sustained irrigation for plantations problematic without comprehensive watershed management.
The project requires coordinated execution across central and state governments, forest departments, research institutes, civil society organizations, private sector entities, and local communities. Success demands adequate funding mechanisms, technical capacity building, policy coordination across state boundaries, and sustained public awareness campaigns in areas where India’s environmental programs historically struggle with implementation gaps between policy and ground reality.
Critical Analysis: Systemic Failures and Path Forward
The Aravalli crisis exemplifies how inadequate governance undermines environmental protection despite strong legal frameworks. The 1992 notification, multiple Supreme Court interventions, and establishment of bodies like the seven-member Aravalli Rejuvenation Board in Gurugram have failed to halt degradation. A Supreme Court judgment noted that “damage caused to the Aravalli hills is irreversible” and that “the rule of law seems to have broken down in Haryana,” transformed into “rule of men” favoring mining lobbies and real estate interests.
The policy contradiction becomes apparent when examining recent developments. While the Aravalli Green Wall Project promises restoration, the 2024 Supreme Court definition revision potentially opens vast areas to mining. Government backgrounders claim “no imminent threat” to Aravallis ecology, directly contradicting peer-reviewed research documenting accelerating degradation. A May 2025 Union Ministry action plan itself acknowledged the barrier’s deterioration, creating internal policy inconsistency.
Education and awareness initiatives remain vague without specific implementation mechanisms. References to “education programs” lack details about curriculum integration, community training modules, stakeholder engagement protocols, or measurable awareness targets. Without concrete educational frameworks connecting local populations to conservation outcomes through knowledge, skills, and economic incentives, behavior change necessary for long-term protection remains unlikely.
The Aravallis’ survival requires immediate, comprehensive intervention addressing multiple dimensions simultaneously. First, enforcement mechanisms must become robust with accountability systems punishing officials enabling illegal activities. Second, the entire 692-kilometer range should receive unified protection as a Critical Ecological Zone, eliminating loopholes from varying state regulations and legal definitions. Third, restoration must scale dramatically beyond current efforts, mobilizing resources comparable to the Aravallis’ ecological significance for northwestern India’s 100-plus million inhabitants.
Fourth, alternative livelihood programs must provide viable economic pathways for communities currently dependent on resource extraction, recognizing that conservation fails without addressing human development needs. Fifth, technology integration including satellite monitoring, AI-driven degradation assessment, and drone-based restoration can enhance efficiency and transparency. Finally, scientific research must inform policy continuously rather than being selectively cited when convenient for development interests.
The Aravallis stand at an inflection point. These mountains have survived billions of years of geological processes but face potential ecological collapse within decades under current degradation trajectories. Nearly 30 percent of India’s land already suffers degradation according to ISRO assessments, with Delhi, Gujarat, and Rajasthan exceeding 50 percent land degradation. The Aravallis’ failure as a desert barrier would accelerate desertification across the densely populated Indo-Gangetic plains, threatening water security, food production, and climate stability for hundreds of millions.
Protection demands recognizing the Aravallis not merely as ancient geological formations but as active, functioning ecosystems providing quantifiable services: water recharge, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, dust pollution mitigation, and cultural heritage preservation. The choice before policymakers, communities, and citizens is stark. Implement comprehensive protection now or accept irreversible loss of northwestern India’s ecological foundation with catastrophic consequences for present and future generations.
Ishwarya Dhube is a third-year BBA LLB student who combines academic rigor with practical experience gained through multiple legal internships. Her work spans various areas of law, allowing her to develop a comprehensive understanding of legal practice. Ishwarya specializes in legal writing and analysis, bringing both business acumen and hands-on legal experience to her work.
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