Context:
The Supreme Court is examining allegations that a government panel led by the MoEF Secretary suppressed the Forest Survey of India (FSI) view while defining the Aravalli hills, raising concerns over environmental protection and mining expansion.
Key Highlights:
- Committee Report & Definition Issue
- Panel proposed defining Aravalli hills based on 100-metre height criteria
- FSI warned that such a definition would exclude ~90% of the Aravalli range
- Ignores lower hills, valleys, and ecological continuity
- Institutional Concerns
- Central Empowered Committee (CEC) reportedly did not approve the report
- Allegation of suppression of expert opinion (FSI) by the panel
- Judicial Intervention
- Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance (Dec 29, 2025)
- Earlier order (Nov 20, 2025) kept in abeyance
- Court considering formation of expert committee
- Ecological Importance of Aravallis
- Crucial for groundwater recharge (~2 million litres/hectare)
- Acts as a barrier against desertification (Thar expansion)
- Supports ecological corridors across 4 states
- Concerns Raised by Amicus Curiae
- Definition tailored for mining interests
- May lead to fragmentation of ecosystem
- Risks degradation of aquifers, biodiversity, and climate resilience
- Suggested Measures
- Scientific mapping by ICFRE & FSI
- Identification of ecological corridors and aquifers
- Adoption of landscape-based conservation approach
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Aravalli Range
- One of the oldest fold mountain systems in the world
- Extends from Gujarat → Rajasthan → Haryana → Delhi
- Acts as a natural barrier against desertification
- Forest Survey of India (FSI)
- Under MoEFCC
- Responsible for forest cover assessment and mapping
- Central Empowered Committee (CEC)
- Appointed by Supreme Court
- Assists in environmental governance and forest-related cases
- Amicus Curiae
- Neutral expert assisting the court
- Suo Motu Cognisance
- Court taking action on its own without petition
- ICFRE
- Autonomous body under MoEFCC
- Focus on forestry research and policy inputs
Relevant Mains Points:
- Governance Issues
- Allegations of suppression of scientific inputs undermine evidence-based policymaking
- Highlights need for transparency and institutional accountability
- Environmental Concerns
- Fragmentation of Aravalli ecosystem can:
- Accelerate desertification
- Reduce groundwater recharge
- Threaten biodiversity and wildlife corridors
- Conflict: Development vs Conservation
- Mining vs ecological sustainability
- Raises question of long-term environmental costs
- Judicial Role
- Supreme Court acting as guardian of environmental rights
- Use of precautionary principle and sustainable development
- Policy Gaps
- Lack of holistic landscape-based definition
- Over-reliance on arbitrary physical criteria (height)
- Way Forward:
- Adopt scientific, ecosystem-based classification
- Ensure multi-stakeholder consultation (FSI, ICFRE, experts)
- Strengthen independent environmental oversight bodies
- Promote sustainable mining regulations with strict safeguards
- Integrate Aravalli protection into climate resilience planning
UPSC Relevance:
• GS 2 – Governance, Judiciary, Transparency
• GS 3 – Environment, Conservation, Sustainable Development