Let us keep spreradiung the message
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has stated that no new mining leases will be granted in the Aravalli Hills, in compliance with binding directions of the Supreme Court of India.
The Ministry’s clarification comes amid a widening national campaign arguing that the destruction of hill ecosystems directly contradicts the stated goal of building a Viksit Bharat.
The assurance came in a swift official response—within about 15 hours of a complaint being filed on the Prime Minister’s Office portal by the NatConnect Foundation—despite the Christmas holiday. The reply reached the complainant at 8:37 am on Thursday, a turnaround activists described as unusually prompt.
The speed of action showed that environmental governance could move fast when there was institutional will. “We sincerely hope that the PMO and the MOEFCC will act with the same urgency and concern on our wider campaign to save the Aravalli Hills as well as other hill systems across India,” NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar said.
Environmental groups have formally appealed to Droupadi Murmu to declare all mountain ranges as strict No-Development Zones, barring essential public and strategic projects.
Kumar said the Aravallis had become a litmus test for Viksit Bharat itself. If development is measured only in tonnes extracted and land flattened, he warned, India risks undermining the very natural systems that make long-term growth possible. A developed India, he said, cannot be built by hollowing out its mountains and presenting the damage as progress.
In its communication, the MOEFCC cited the apex court’s continuing oversight of the Aravallis. By an order dated May 9, 2024, in M.C. Mehta vs Union of India & Others (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 4677/1985), the Court directed the Ministry to constitute a committee to arrive at a uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills and ranges. The committee has since submitted its report, which the Court accepted on November 20, 2025.
The Court further directed the Ministry to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli range through the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun. The order specifies that no new mining leases may be granted until the MPSM is finalised, effectively placing a moratorium on fresh extraction activity in the range.