Government explains Aravalli Hills definition: 100 m above local relief, hills within 500 m form a range
The government on 21 December 2025 explained the uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills and Range accepted by the Supreme Court on 20 November 2025, under which landforms rising 100 metres or more above local relief are Aravalli Hills.
Summary
The Aravalli Hills definition accepted by the Supreme Court in its judgment of 20 November 2025 was explained in a PIB Backgrounder issued on 21 December 2025. Under the definition recommended by an MoEFCC-led committee, any landform in the Aravalli districts rising 100 metres or more above local relief, along with its supporting slopes, is an Aravalli Hill, and two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other form an Aravalli Range. The Aravalli definition builds on Rajasthan's criterion in force since 9 January 2006, and the Supreme Court directed MoEFCC to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining through ICFRE for the entire Aravallis, with an interim moratorium on new leases until then.
Key facts
- Backgrounder
- 21 December 2025
- SC judgment
- 20 November 2025; committee set up by SC order of 9 May 2024
- Aravalli Hills
- Landform 100 m or more above local relief, with supporting slopes
- Aravalli Range
- Two or more such hills within 500 m of each other
- Spread
- Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat; 37 districts
- Mining
- MPSM through ICFRE; interim moratorium on new leases
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Under the definition accepted by the Supreme Court in November 2025, a landform in the Aravalli districts is an 'Aravalli Hill' if it rises how high above local relief?
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Correct answer: B — 100 metres or more
PIB 2207176: any landform in the Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief is an Aravalli Hill. 500 m is the proximity used to define a range.
Which state was the only one with a formally established definition of the Aravallis for regulating mining, in force since 9 January 2006?
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Correct answer: A — Rajasthan
PIB 2207176: only Rajasthan had a formal definition, based on its 2002 committee report using the Richard Murphy landform classification, followed since 9 January 2006.
Consider the following statements about the Supreme Court's 20 November 2025 judgment on the Aravallis: 1. Two or more Aravalli Hills within 500 metres of each other form an Aravalli Range. 2. MoEFCC was directed to prepare a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining through ICFRE for the entire Aravallis. 3. New mining leases were allowed to continue while the plan is prepared. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — 1 and 2 only
PIB 2207176: the range definition uses 500 m proximity and the Court directed an MPSM through ICFRE. It imposed an interim moratorium on new leases until the MPSM is prepared, so statement 3 is wrong.