"Most mountains less than 100 meters": Sachin Pilot says Aravalli range facing "grave threat"

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], December 26 : Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday said that the Aravalli range was facing a "grave threat" due to the 100m+ redefinition of the world's oldest geological formations submitted by the centre to the Supreme Court.
He said that most of the mountain ranges in the Aravalli Hills were less than 100 meters high.
"The Aravalli range is facing a grave threat because, according to the documents the government has submitted to the court and the definition it has provided, most of the mountains are less than 100 meters high," Pilot told ANI.
Reacting to the centre's order banning new mining leases in Aravallis, the Congress leader said that the ban was already in place. He added that the government was losing people's trust as the Aravalli range's existence was under threat.
"Regarding the ban, one was already in place before, but today the government is losing the people's trust. This mountain range has been our protective shield since ancient times, and today its very existence is under threat. That is why people have taken to the streets today," Pilot said.
Earlier in the day, Pilot accused the centre of failing to protect the ecologically sensitive hills and warned that inaction could cause irreversible environmental damage.
A war of words also erupted on social media between senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav regarding the government's new 'definition' of the Aravalli hills.
According to Ramesh, the new definition of the Aravalli range contradicts expert opinions and data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI). He noted that the FSI data show that only 8.7% of the Aravalli hills above 20 meters exceed 100 meters in elevation. He further claimed that fewer than 1% of the hills identified by FSI exceed 100 meters in height, making the government's decision to base boundaries on height problematic.
"The new definition of the Aravali given by the Modi government is against the opinion of all experts, and is also dangerous and destructive. According to the authentic data of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), only 8.7% of the Aravali hills with height more than 20 meters are more than 100 meters high. On the other hand, if all the Aravali hills identified by FSI are considered, not even 1% of them are more than 100 meters high. FSI's clear opinion--and it is entirely justified--is that determining boundaries on the basis of height is dubious, and the entire Aravali mountain range should receive protection regardless of height," Ramesh's X post read.
Meanwhile, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is protecting the mining mafia in various states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. He further alleged that the BJP is trying to "destroy" the Aravalli Hills, claiming that no orders have been implemented and executed to stop the mining in the region.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat regarding the "ban on grant of new Mining leases and strict regulation of ongoing mining activity in the Aravalli Hills in compliance of the Order of Supreme Court in their judgment dated November 20, 2025 in the matter of Writ Petition (Civil) No.202/1995 in the TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs. Union of India regarding".
The official release by the Ministry stated that the Supreme Court has vide their judgement and directed that no new mining leases shall be granted till the finalisation of the Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli Hills mountain range.
Moreover, the Ministry also wrote a letter to the Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) regarding the "Identification of additional Prohibited Areas/Zones for Mining in Aravalli's - carrying out Cumulative Impact Assessment and Ecological Carrying Capacity of the entire Aravalli region".
Earlier, the Supreme Court accepted the Centre's definition of the Aravalli hills, which states that "any hills in the range with an elevation of less than 100 metres are not subject to the strictures against mining".
The apex court also accepted the recommendations for sustainable mining in the Aravalli Hills and the steps to be taken for preventing illegal mining.
The Union Environment Ministry has also issued a detailed clarification, stating that no new mining leases will be allowed until a comprehensive study is undertaken, in line with the Supreme Court's November 20 order.
The Aravalli range is a 670-kilometre-long mountain range in northwestern India. The highest elevation of the range has been recorded at 1,722 metres.
The hill starts near Delhi, passes through Haryana, Rajasthan, and ends in Gujarat. The highest peak of the range is known as Guru Shikhar, in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.
The Aravalli range is the oldest fold-mountain belt in India, dating back around 2 billion years.