SAVE ARAVALLIS, India’s Oldest Guardians of Life

The Aravalli Range, stretching across Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, is one of the oldest mountain systems on Earth, over 3 billion years old. 

It is not just a chain of hills; it is a living ecological shield that protects millions of lives across North India. Yet, this ancient range now faces a slow and deliberate death.

WHY THE ARAVALLIS MATTER

Climate Shield: The Aravallis act as a natural barrier against dewsertification, stopping the Thar Desert from advancing toward fertile plains.

Water Recharge System: These ridges replenish groundwater levels, feeding aquifers that sustain villages and cities like Gurugram, Faridabad, and Delhi.

Biodiversity Haven: The forests shelter leopards, hyenas, nilgais, migratory birds, and thousands of plant species vital to ecological balance.

Breath of North India: The Aravallis absorb carbon and dust from industrial belts while improving the air quality of one of the most polluted regions in the world.Without the Aravallis, Delhi-NCR and its surrounding regions will face intensified heat waves, water scarcity, air pollution, and ecological collapse.

WHO AND WHAT ARE DESTROYING THEM

Illegal Mining: Continuous quarrying for stones, sand, and minerals has hollowed entire hills, turning once-forested ridges into barren craters.

Unplanned Urbanization: Real estate expansion, encroachments, and unauthorized constructions are eating into eco-sensitive zones and forest buffer areas.

Deforestation & Fires: Rampant clearing of forest cover for infrastructure, compounded by neglect in forest management, accelerates soil erosion and biodiversity loss.

Weak Governance & Loopholes: Dilution of environmental regulations, misuse of land classification, and lack of strict enforcement have emboldened violators.

Neglect of Indigenous Wisdom: Traditional communities that once lived sustainably with these hills are being marginalized, losing their role as natural custodians.

WHAT WE DEMAND

We, citizens of India and caretakers of our shared heritage, call upon the following immediate actions:

1. Complete Ban on Mining in notified Aravalli ranges across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi, with strict enforcement and punitive action against violators.
2. Aravalli Protection & Regeneration Act: A unified national framework to restore degraded areas, protect forest corridors, and promote afforestation using native species.
3. Watershed Restoration Mission - to revive groundwater recharge zones and springs across the range under national priority programs.
4. Community-Led Conservation: Empower local forest and village councils as stewards of Aravalli regeneration through livelihood-linked conservation models.
5. Public Accountability: Mandatory environmental audits, real-time satellite monitoring, and transparency in land-use change permissions.
6. Green Urban Planning: Halt new urban expansion into forest zones and integrate a 25% mandatory green buffer around all Aravalli foothill developments.

OUR CALL TO ACTION

We appeal to the Government of India, State Governments of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Gujarat, the Supreme Court of India, and citizens across the nation to unite in defense of one of our oldest living treasures.

Saving the Aravallis is not just about saving hills, it is about securing the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the climate that sustains life.

It is a moral duty, an ecological necessity, and a patriotic act.

Sign this petition. Share it. Raise your voice.

For if the Aravallis fall, India’s heart will lose its natural armor.