In a major move to safeguard one of India’s most critical ecological barriers, the Supreme Court has constituted a high-powered committee (HPC) to conduct an independent review of the Central government’s report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range.
The apex court’s intervention targets what it described as “critical ambiguities” in the government’s findings—loopholes that environmentalists fear could strip protective cover from massive swathes of the hills and open them up to unchecked mining.
Headed by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), the newly formed panel of domain experts has been directed to submit a comprehensive report by August 31, 2026.
Resolving Contentious Definitions
The Supreme Court’s decision is the latest development in a high-stakes ecological battle. On December 29, the court stayed the implementation of an October 2025 report prepared by a committee chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). At the time, the bench emphasized that a “fair, impartial and independent expert opinion,” gathered after consulting all relevant stakeholders, was essential to saving the fragile Aravalli ecosystem.
Now, the newly formed HPC is tasked with answering several high-stakes scientific and ecological questions that could redefine environmental conservation in the region:
- The 500-Metre Gap Loophole: The panel will investigate whether defining the Aravalli range only by areas within 500 metres of two or more hills narrows the protected territory. Critics worry this rule could facilitate mining and other disruptive activities in the intervening gaps.
- The Continuity of the Range: The committee must determine if hills with elevations of 100 metres and above constitute a continuous ecological formation—even if they are separated by distances wider than the proposed 500-metre threshold—and whether mining should be prohibited in those gaps.
- The Missing Hills of Rajasthan: Perhaps the most startling finding in the Centre’s October 2025 report was the assertion that only 1,048 of Rajasthan’s 12,081 hills satisfy the 100-metre elevation criterion. The HPC is tasked with verifying if this assessment is scientifically and factually accurate, or if it risks leaving thousands of lower-elevation hill formations entirely unprotected.
- Regulatory Gaps: Finally, the panel will assess if current regulatory frameworks are sufficient or if they contain gaps requiring a deeper, more exhaustive scientific and geological probe.
A Panel of Top-Tier Experts
The composition of the committee was finalized following consultations among the parties before the court. During the last hearing on May 25, the Centre informed the bench that it agreed to include four key experts recommended by both the amicus curiae and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
The committee is chaired ex-officio by Kanchan Devi, a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer. Joining her on the panel are:
- Dr. Subhash Ashutosh, former Director General of the Forest Survey of India;
- Dr. Rajendra Kumar Sharma, former Director of the Geological Survey of India;
- Brij Mohan Singh Rathore, former Joint Secretary in the Environment Ministry;
- Prof. Ashok K. Bhatnagar, former Head of the Department of Botany at Delhi University.
To ensure a robust academic and scientific perspective, the court also appointed Professor Jagdish Krishnaswamy of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, and Prof. Laxmikant Sharma of the Central University of Haryana as special invitees who can be integrated into the committee’s work at the chairperson’s discretion.
The MoEFCC has also been directed to nominate a Director-rank officer to serve as the committee’s Member Secretary to facilitate its operations.
With the August 31, 2026 deadline fast approaching, the findings of this high-powered committee will likely shape the environmental and industrial landscape of the Aravalli region for decades to come.
