Rajasthan leaders, ecologists urge SC-appointed Aravalli panel to take more time, record mining impact

The HPC had sought comments from stakeholders during a 21-day period, which ended on August 11. Civil society groups, environmental activists and mining-impacted communities have been demanding that the HPC seek more time to submit its report as the panel has visited only limited urban areas in the Aravallis.

Roat, who belongs to the Bhil community, said tribal people have lived in the Aravalli hills and forests since time immemorial, and mining leases have caused significant damage in the region. He demanded that the HPC’s deadline for its report submission be extended, and that it should be followed by a new notice, allowing face-to-face discussions with the people.

The committee should also consult health experts, cancel the leases of mining companies that violated regulations and determine responsibility for damage,” he said in his letter dated August 14.

Amra Ram made more specific demands, including seeking protection for the Girjan river and forests and ‘oran’ or sacred groves along the river stretch. “The Girjan river ecosystem, which includes 40 villages, hamlets and the Buchara Dam, be declared a mining and stone crushing zone,” the CPI(M) MP said. He also sought protections for the Sota, Katli rivers in Kotputli and Jhunjhunu districts.

Ecologist Pradip Krishen wrote in his email to the HPC that the panel had a historic opportunity to save the natural barrier against desertification, and the aquifers it is home to. Krishen said a cumulative and independent environmental and social impact study, spanning all 63 Aravalli districts as mentioned in the Forest Survey of India’s September 2025 report, is needed.

“The study must be done by one or more reputable independent institutions along with different domain experts from the fields of ecology, geology, public health, wildlife etc. This study will give a clear picture of the carrying capacity of the Aravalli range. Mindlessly mining North India’s lifeline for clean air and water security for building stone and exporting marble and granite to foreign countries makes no sense when we are one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change and pollution and heat levels are soaring,” he wrote. Krishen has led degraded land restoration projects in Rajasthan.

The HPC was formed in May this year with a mandate, among other things, to resolve critical ambiguities pertaining to an earlier report submitted by a panel led by the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Supreme Court had earlier accepted this previous panel’s recommendation defining Aravallis as any landform within the region with an elevation of 100 metres or above the local relief, including its slopes and adjacent land. However, the court stayed its own order in December 2025 following widespread public backlash.