The Fight to Save India’s Ancient Aravallis From Rampant Mining

The fight to save India’s ancient Aravallis from rampant mining

Over two billion years old, the Aravalli mountain range in north-western India feels like an oasis running through Rajasthan’s hot, arid landscape. Its rolling hills, biodiverse forests and water bodies form a massive green wall protecting the rest of the country from the heat and dust that rises from the Thar Desert on the western edge of the state. Yet despite its ecological significance, commercial mining has been degrading the Aravallis. At …

The Battle For The Aravalli Isn’t Over

The latest controversy was sparked off in November 2025, when a government proposal to limit the definition of the range to only hills more than 100 metres high received the endorsement of the Supreme Court. Environmentalists soon raised a clamour for the protection of the Aravalli and called the proposal a sell-out to the mining lobby. If this proposal was implemented, they said, more than 90 per cent of the range would no longer enjoy protecti…