The Rise of the Save Aravalli Movement: Over the past few days, the Save Aravalli campaign has gathered unprecedented momentum across digital platforms and city streets alike. What began as online discussions quickly transformed into physical protests, with people stepping out in large numbers across Rajasthan and Haryana. In a country where environmental issues rarely dominate public discourse, such sustained awareness and mobilisation signal something extraordinary. It reflects a growing belief that a critical ecological threshold has been crossed and silence is no longer an option.
As public concern intensified, the situation compelled the government to respond. Clarifications began emerging from official channels, culminating in public statements by the Union Environment Minister. For many observers, this itself was unusual. Instead of dismissing protesters with familiar labels or questioning their intent, the government chose to address questions head-on. This shift indicated that public pressure had reached a level where it could no longer be brushed aside.
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Government Responses and a Familiar Narrative
While the tone of engagement appeared new, the substance followed a well-worn path. Assurances were offered that the government stood firmly with the people, while cautioning that certain groups were allegedly spreading confusion. This narrative has surfaced repeatedly in recent years, whether during debates around public health, agricultural reforms, or regional rights movements. Each time, protests are framed as misunderstandings influenced by unseen forces, and each time, the government presents itself as acting after careful thought and in national interest.
In the case of the Aravallis, the official position is no different. The government insists that recent decisions are intended to protect the hills and regulate mining more effectively. Yet, beneath these assurances lies a deeper pattern that has played out across several ecologically sensitive regions of the country.
A Template Repeated Across India
The controversy surrounding the Aravallis is not an isolated event. It follows a familiar template that has been applied in forested and mineral-rich regions for years. The process usually begins with redefining ecological terms. Once definitions are altered, existing protections weaken or disappear altogether. After that, development narratives take over, and mining or infrastructure projects are introduced through legal and administrative routes. Everything appears procedurally sound, even as the ecological cost becomes irreversible.
This approach has been visible in states such as Chhattisgarh, Assam, Odisha, and Goa. The Aravalli region is simply the latest chapter in a much larger story.
How a Definition Put an Ancient Ecosystem at Risk
The immediate trigger for the current crisis was a new definition of the Aravalli Hills, accepted by the Supreme Court while hearing an ongoing case in November. According to this definition, only landforms rising 100 metres or more above surrounding terrain would be classified as Aravalli hills. Slopes and adjacent lands were included, and in some cases, flat land between closely spaced hills was also considered part of the range.
On paper, the government claimed this redefinition would restrict mining. In practice, it achieved the opposite.
Internal assessments revealed that out of more than 12,000 hills across the Aravalli districts of Rajasthan, only around 1,000 meet the new criteria. This means over 90 percent of the region is no longer technically recognised as Aravalli, leaving vast tracts vulnerable to mining, construction, and real estate development.
Why the Aravallis Matter
The Aravalli range is far more than a chain of hills. Stretching nearly 700 kilometres from Gujarat to Delhi, it is one of the oldest mountain systems on Earth, dating back approximately 2.5 billion years. For millennia, it has acted as a natural barrier between northern India and the Thar Desert. Every day, powerful desert winds carry massive quantities of sand eastward, but the forests and ridges of the Aravallis prevent this dust from engulfing the plains of Delhi and the Ganga-Yamuna belt.
If this barrier weakens, the consequences will be severe. Desertification will accelerate, air pollution will worsen, heatwaves will intensify, groundwater levels will drop further, and fragile ecosystems will collapse. The region is home to dozens of wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, critical wetlands, and migration corridors for endangered species. Any large-scale disruption will have cascading effects far beyond the hills themselves.
Trust Deficit and Ground Reality
Despite official assurances that mining remains banned in sensitive zones, public trust is fragile. This scepticism is rooted in lived experience. Even before the latest definition, mining in the Aravallis was heavily regulated. Yet thousands of illegal mining cases have been reported in Rajasthan alone over the past few years, with only a fraction resulting in formal prosecutions. Drone surveys have repeatedly exposed extraction levels far exceeding legal limits.
In reality, a significant portion of the Aravalli range has already been damaged due to weak enforcement and institutional failures. The same 100-metre definition has existed in Rajasthan since 2006, and its ineffectiveness is visible on the ground. Extending this framework to other states raises obvious concerns about what lies ahead.
Beyond Miners: The Real Estate Threat
In states like Haryana, the primary danger is not limited to mining. Large-scale construction and real estate projects have cleared entire hillocks in the name of development. Encroachment has steadily eaten away at the landscape, despite long-standing bans. Orders from regulatory bodies to halt activities underline a basic question: if mining and construction were already restricted, why did such interventions become necessary at all?
The answer lies in enforcement gaps and a deeper form of corruption that no longer operates quietly but reshapes policies themselves.
Institutionalised Corruption and Policy Capture
Over the past decade, environmental conflicts have increasingly reflected a shift from small-scale illegal operations to systemic policy manipulation. Instead of breaking rules, influential players seek to change them. Definitions are altered, protections diluted, and exceptions normalised. This approach has allowed destructive activities to continue openly under the cover of legality.
Examples from Chhattisgarh’s forests, Assam’s reserve areas, and Odisha’s tribal regions demonstrate how mining projects have advanced despite opposition, questionable consent processes, and serious ecological risks. Investigations have revealed forged approvals, intimidation of local communities, and the sidelining of constitutional safeguards meant to protect vulnerable groups.
Political Funding and Economic Interests
Understanding why such projects persist requires examining the relationship between industry and political power. Mining is undeniably important for economic development, but it is also a sector heavily dependent on government support. Data released following judicial intervention revealed substantial political donations from mining and resource-linked companies to ruling parties. These financial ties raise uncomfortable questions about policy decisions that consistently favour industrial expansion over environmental and social costs.
When electoral outcomes change and coalition politics come into play, the pressure to accommodate powerful donors intensifies. In this context, ecologically sensitive regions become bargaining chips in a larger political economy.
The Role of Citizens and Constitutional Responsibility
At the heart of this debate lies a fundamental constitutional principle. In a democracy, governments derive their authority from the people. Elections do not confer absolute power; they entrust representatives with the responsibility to serve public interest. Holding governments accountable is not an act of defiance but a civic duty.
For years, environmental destruction in remote regions failed to provoke widespread concern. Forests vanished, rivers were polluted, and communities displaced without sustained public outrage. Only when the consequences began reaching major cities did awareness surge. The Save Aravalli movement reflects this awakening, but it also exposes a collective delay in recognising interconnected ecological realities.
Beyond Aravalli: What Comes Next
The Aravalli controversy is not the final frontier. Projects like the Great Nicobar development highlight even larger environmental and humanitarian risks. Massive infrastructure plans are being advanced in some of the most biodiverse and disaster-prone regions on the planet, with enormous ecological costs and minimal local consent. Ancient forests, unique species, and indigenous cultures face existential threats under the banner of strategic development.
These projects follow the same pattern seen elsewhere: ecological concerns dismissed, critics labelled, and irreversible decisions rushed through administrative channels.
The Rise of the Save Aravalli Movement: A Shared Responsibility
Raising voices for the Aravallis is a crucial step, but it cannot be selective. Environmental justice in one region cannot come at the cost of silence elsewhere. Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and island ecosystems face equally urgent crises. The responsibility to protect these spaces lies not only with courts or activists but with citizens who must demand transparency, accountability, and long-term thinking.
Only sustained public vigilance can compel governments to prioritise people and ecosystems over short-term industrial gains. The future of the Aravallis, and of many other fragile landscapes, depends on whether this moment of awareness evolves into lasting civic engagement.
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