ARAVALLI HILLS UNDER THREAT

Aravalli's - the calm, rugged hills where birds flock and peacocks dance, where Babool trees stand tall and Nilgai's move gracefully. A range that may not have snow covered mountains but nonetheless a place that makes you soak in the quiet calm.

You may have visited Aravalli's or may wish to go there one day but as a 10 year old I am worried that these gorgeous, oldest mountain range are going to be destroyed. I feel this worry seems rational because my generation will be the most impacted as we are the future who will face the brunt of decisions taken today.

Aravalli's keep our whole ecosystem under control. I have had the experience to go and visit Aravalli hills a few times on school trips. I have learned about Aravalli's biodiversity and the agriculture . And I am saddened to hear that a major change is about to happen that will affect this mountain range and our lives too.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ARAVALLI HILLS

Aravalli's are nearly 3 billion years old and India's oldest mountain range.

Aravalli's run from Gujrat to Delhi over 1,080 km's. Aravalli's protect harsh winds from the Thar desert ,they act as a major ground water recharge zone and support rich biodiversity.

SUPREME COURT'S ORDER

In November 2025, the supreme court of India changed the uniform definition of the Aravalli hills. The previous definition was any hill 30 meters above ground level with a 4 degree slope is counted as a hill. But now the uniform definition is that a hill is called a hill only if it is 100 meters or higher above local ground and the Aravalli hills are only 90 meters. This means that it could weaken legal protection for the range and large parts of the Aravalli range would be vulnerable to mining and construction activities according to https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/protection-of-aravalli-hills.

WHO MADE THIS RULE?

The Govt of India argued on the inconsistencies of the four states, Rajasthan, Gujrat, Haryana and Delhi with relation to mining.

The new definition of the Aravalli hills was proposed by a committee led by the Union Ministry of Environment, and Climate Change, whose recommendation's were selected by the Supreme court of India in Nov, 2025.

But thankfully, this decision made scientists, general public, and environmentalists protest against it. They are aghast at this decision and the Supreme Court's decision is awaited.

MY OPINION AS TO SAVE ARAVALLI HILLS

I think that the new definition will effect our whole ecosystem. People should keep on protesting , spreading awareness about the challenges all living things will face if the hills are destroyed. Animals will loose their home, we humans will be affected by the harsh Thar desert winds, ground water will not be there and all the biodiversity will be lost. Imagine if the Aravalli hills will not be there- Rajasthan, Gujrat, Haryana and Delhi would face CATASTROPHIC ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE: severe desertification, drastically increased air and water pollution (dust storms), water levels going down, droughts\floods, transforming these four places into hotter and drier states. It will have severe impact on human health and agriculture. I shudder with fear thinking about these impacts.

INTERVIEW WITH DR. K. C. BANSAL

To take my research forward, I was truly honored to interview Professor KC Bansal, a prominent Indian Scientist. I had some burning questions and his guidance and knowledge bought a lot of clarity. Since he is an expert agricultural scientist, I started the conversation by asking him, how the biodiversity and agriculture around the Aravalli region will get impacted if the hills are destroyed? He said, "It will be impacted adversely because all the trees will be cut and the animals that rely on those plants and trees, their life will also be destroyed." He further elaborated, that the green belt helps in keeping our environment clean and gives us oxygen. If construction takes place, we will lose all these important elements important for us to survive.

I further asked him what is his opinion about the new definition? To which he said, "Any kind of green belt should be protected. Just for the sake of urbanization, we shouldn't be ok with anything destroying the Aravalli's. As citizens of this country, we should be concerned about the quality of our lives, all the animals, birds, flowers and the different species that exist in the Aravalli's."

I strongly feel and agree with him that we have already caused much damage to our environment and set in global warming and shouldn't destroy our natural resources further.

Lastly, I asked him what should we all do to stop Aravalli hills from getting destroyed?

He suggested, we should write letters to people who are in charge of such decisions.

We must educate school children about the disadvantages of destroying green belts.

We must conduct awareness programs on how extreme urbanization can affect us.

So friends , I hope after reading this article you will try to take some action at your own end to protest against the supreme court ruling for Aravalli's.

This is not just important for today but for our future too.

Through this article I want to spread awareness so that people become aware and take individual action. Share this post with your family members, friends and whoever you know so that it reaches the people in charge of making decisions. Words have strong power !!!