Supreme Court Gives Aravalli Panel 2 Months To Finish Review, Rejects Extension Till February 2027

The Supreme Court has given the Aravalli High-Powered Committee (HPC) just two months to complete its examination of the controversial definition and boundaries of the Aravalli range, turning down the panel’s request for time until February 2027. The tight deadline has sparked concern among environmentalists and conservationists, who fear that a rushed exercise could overlook the ecological complexity of one of India’s oldest mountain systems.

November 30 Set As Final Deadline

The HPC had approached the Supreme Court seeking an extension after its earlier deadline of August 31 passed. The committee had argued that more time was required to carry out a detailed and scientifically defensible review.

The court instead fixed November 30 as the deadline for submitting the final report.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made it clear that the committee was expected to complete the exercise within the additional two months and warned that failure to do so could lead to the panel being reconstituted.

“Let the panel work day and night to submit a report on the Aravalli issue,” CJI Surya Kant said, adding that the court would consider reconstituting the committee if it could not complete the task within two months.

Experts Raise Concerns Over Rushed Exercise

The court’s decision has not gone down well with environmental groups working on the Aravalli landscape.

Diwan Singh, co-founder of the Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan, said the deadline was worrying given the scale of the exercise. He questioned whether an assessment involving detailed scientific studies could realistically be completed by working around the clock.

Singh referred to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel as an example of the time required for an ecological assessment. The panel spent about a year studying the Western Ghats before making its recommendations on declaring the region ecologically sensitive.

According to Singh, the Aravallis also require a careful assessment rather than a hurried report.

Committee Plans Multi-Dimensional Study

The HPC’s work extends beyond simply drawing a new boundary for the Aravallis. Its compliance report says the review will consider the region’s geological and geomorphological features, water systems, biodiversity, ecology, mineral resources and socio-economic conditions.

The panel has also suggested creating an Aravalli Ecosystem Landscape (AEL) framework. The idea is to divide the wider landscape according to its different ecological and socio-economic characteristics so that conservation measures can be tailored to individual areas.

Demand For Consultations Across 64 Districts

Conservationist Neelam Ahluwalia has argued that the exercise should extend across all 64 districts associated with the Aravalli landscape.

The figure includes districts spread across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, with Mathura also included, based on references to a Forest Survey of India report dated September 22, 2025.

Ahluwalia has also questioned the narrower coverage of an earlier report prepared by a panel led by the Union Environment Ministry. That report identified 37 Aravalli districts, while conservationists have alleged that important Rajasthan districts such as Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Bundi were not included.

Bhil Adivasi leader Sadhna Meena has separately pushed for local communities to have a greater say in the process. She called for consultations with residents at the sub-district or district level across the entire Aravalli region, with sufficient advance notice.

Why The Aravalli Definition Became A Major Issue

The dispute over the Aravallis began with a Supreme Court ruling of November 20, 2025, concerning mining in the region.

At the time, a Bench headed by then CJI B R Gavai approved an elevation-based method for identifying the Aravalli Hills and Range for the purpose of regulating mining.

The criterion classified a landform as an Aravalli Hill if it stood at least 100 metres above the surrounding terrain. Hills meeting the criteria and situated within 500 metres of one another could together be treated as part of the Aravalli Range.

Although the court retained restrictions on mining in core and ecologically sensitive areas, it did not order a complete prohibition on mining across the Aravallis.

The definition soon came under fire from environmental groups, which argued that using elevation as the primary test could exclude large stretches of the landscape from protection. Concerns were also raised that more than 90% of the region could potentially be left outside existing safeguards.

Supreme Court Put Earlier Decision On Hold

The controversy eventually returned to the Supreme Court.

On December 29, 2025, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant stayed the implementation of the November 20 decision and put the recommendations of the earlier expert committee on hold.

The new HPC was subsequently constituted through a May 25 order of the Supreme Court to independently examine the Centre’s findings on how the Aravalli range should be defined and delineated.

The committee must now complete that exercise and submit its final report by November 30, leaving it with roughly two months to undertake the extensive review.