How is the Aravalli range to be protected?

The Hindu

I. Central Thesis and Core Argument

The article argues that the Aravalli range—India’s oldest mountain system and a critical ecological barrier—is facing irreversible degradation due to mining, urbanisation, and definitional ambiguity. It positions the Supreme Court’s intervention and the push for a uniform, scientifically grounded definition of the Aravallis as essential steps to ensure legal protection, ecological continuity, and enforcement clarity.

The core contention is that environmental protection has failed not due to lack of laws, but due to fragmented definitions, regulatory loopholes, and weak enforcement, allowing economic interests to override ecological imperatives.

II. Key Arguments Presented

1. Ecological Importance of the Aravallis
The article underlines the Aravallis’ role in preventing desertification of the Indo-Gangetic plains, regulating climate, supporting biodiversity, recharging groundwater, and acting as a natural shield against the Thar Desert’s eastward expansion.

2. Mining as the Primary Threat
Unregulated and illegal mining over decades has led to large-scale deforestation, hill flattening, groundwater depletion, and habitat loss across Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.

3. Definitional Ambiguity as a Governance Failure
Different states and agencies have used varying definitions of what constitutes the Aravalli range—based on revenue records, forest classifications, or satellite imagery—creating legal grey zones that mining interests exploit.

4. Supreme Court and Central Empowered Committee (CEC) Role
The article explains how the Supreme Court, aided by the CEC, sought a uniform definition grounded in scientific parameters such as elevation, slope, and geological continuity, rather than administrative boundaries.

5. Rejection of a Blanket Mining Ban
Instead of an absolute ban, the Court opted for a regulated, calibrated approach—prohibiting mining in ecologically sensitive areas while allowing limited activity elsewhere under strict conditions.

6. Shift Towards Restoration and Management Plans
Emphasis is placed on restoration, afforestation, and long-term management rather than mere prohibition, recognising the socio-economic dependencies around mining.

III. Author’s Stance

The author adopts a conservation-centric and legally pragmatic stance. While strongly supportive of ecological protection, the article does not advocate absolutism. Instead, it endorses judicially guided, science-based regulation that balances environmental integrity with administrative feasibility.

The tone reflects concern over historical neglect but cautious optimism about institutional correction.

IV. Implicit Biases and Framing

1. Pro-Judicial Intervention Bias
The article places significant faith in the Supreme Court as the primary corrective force, potentially underplaying executive and legislative responsibility.

2. Environmental Primacy over Livelihood Concerns
While economic dependencies are acknowledged, the narrative prioritises ecological preservation, with limited exploration of alternative livelihoods for mining-dependent communities.

3. Technocratic Leaning
Strong reliance on scientific definitions may understate local ecological knowledge and community participation.

V. Strengths of the Article

1. Integrates Law, Ecology, and Governance
Successfully links environmental science with constitutional and legal mechanisms.

2. Clarifies a Complex Legal Issue
Explains why “definition” is not semantic but central to enforceability.

3. Avoids Simplistic Solutions
Rejects blanket bans in favour of nuanced, evidence-based regulation.

4. High UPSC Relevance
Strong alignment with GS-I (Physical Geography), GS-II (Judiciary, Governance), and GS-III (Environment, Sustainable Development).

5. Emphasises Long-Term Ecological Thinking
Moves the discourse beyond immediate litigation to restoration and sustainability.

VI. Limitations and Gaps

1. Limited Focus on State Accountability
State governments’ regulatory failures are noted but not deeply analysed.

2. Community Engagement Underexplored
Role of local communities in conservation and monitoring is marginal.

3. Implementation Challenges Downplayed
Enforcement capacity, corruption, and monitoring constraints receive limited attention.

VII. Policy Implications (UPSC GS Alignment)

GS Paper I – Geography
• Role of mountain systems in climate regulation and desertification control
• Physical geography–human interaction

GS Paper II – Governance & Judiciary
• Judicial activism in environmental protection
• Federal coordination challenges across states

GS Paper III – Environment & Sustainable Development
• Mining regulation, ecological restoration, and sustainable resource use
• Balancing development with conservation

VIII. Real-World Impact Assessment

Positive Outcomes
• Legal clarity strengthens enforcement
• Restoration targets provide ecological recovery pathways
• Reduced scope for regulatory arbitrage

Risks and Challenges
• Continued illegal mining due to enforcement gaps
• Resistance from vested economic interests
• Slow ecological recovery due to irreversible damage

Long-Term Significance
• Protection of groundwater and climate resilience
• Safeguarding NCR’s environmental security

IX. Balanced Conclusion

The article effectively demonstrates that the Aravalli crisis is a governance and legal failure as much as an ecological one. By foregrounding the importance of a uniform, science-based definition and judicial oversight, it shows how environmental protection hinges on administrative clarity and institutional resolve.

However, lasting success will depend not only on court orders but on state capacity, community participation, and sustained political commitment. Conservation cannot remain litigation-driven alone.

X. Future Perspectives

• Institutionalise the scientific definition across state laws
• Strengthen enforcement and monitoring mechanisms
• Integrate local communities into restoration efforts
• Align mining policy with ecological carrying capacity
• Treat the Aravallis as national ecological infrastructure, not a state-wise resource

In essence, the article reinforces a key UPSC-relevant insight: environmental protection succeeds when law, science, and governance converge—failure in any one undermines the whole.