District-Wise Plan to Demarcate Mining Areas in Aravalli Range

The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world. It is much more than just a collection of rocks and hills. It acts as a massive natural shield, stopping the Thar Desert from spreading into North India. It also helps recharge our groundwater and keeps the air breathable. Recently, the Union Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, shared a major update about how we look at and protect these hills. A new district-wise plan is in the works to clearly mark out where mining can happen and, more importantly, where it must never happen. This step is about ending confusion and putting science before profit.

​A New Rule for the Old Hills

​For a long time, different states had different ways of defining what a hill was. This led to many legal loopholes. Some areas were being mined because they were not technically called hills on paper. To fix this, the Supreme Court has accepted a uniform definition. Now, any landform that rises 100 meters or more above the local ground level is considered part of the Aravalli Hills.

​This sounds like a technical detail, but it is a big deal for protection. The Environment Minister clarified that this does not mean everything below 100 meters is up for grabs. In fact, if two hills are within 500 meters of each other, the entire space between them is protected. This ensures that the slopes, valleys, and small hillocks that connect the big peaks stay intact.

​The 0.19 Percent Limit

​There has been a lot of worry that these new rules would open the floodgates for mining. The Minister addressed this directly. He stated that out of the massive 1.44 lakh square kilometer area of the Aravalli Range, mining will only be eligible in 0.19 percent of the land. That is a tiny fraction.

​More than 90 percent of the mountain range is now under strict protection. This includes the core and inviolate areas. These are the heart of the forest where no hammers or drills will ever be allowed. By marking these zones district by district, the government wants to ensure that no official can claim they did not know an area was protected.

​Mapping with Modern Tools

​To make this plan work, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education is preparing a detailed report. They are not just using old paper maps. The project involves the Forest Survey of India and the Survey of India to create toposheets. These are high-tech maps that show every elevation and slope clearly.

​These maps will be the law. If a spot is marked as protected on the digital map, no mining license can be issued there. The Minister also mentioned using drones and night-vision CCTV to keep an eye on these areas. This is meant to stop illegal mining, which has been a huge problem in states like Rajasthan and Haryana for decades.

​Why a District-Wise Plan Matters

​Different districts face different challenges. For example, in Delhi, mining is completely banned across all five districts that touch the Aravallis. In Rajasthan, where most of the range lies, the pressure for stone and marble is much higher. By creating a plan for each district, the government can look at the specific environment of that area.

​The plan will identify wildlife corridors. These are the paths that animals like leopards and hyenas use to move between forests. If a mining site blocks a leopard's path, it should not be there. The district-wise approach allows experts to see these local details that a big national map might miss.

​Learning from the Past

​The government is basing this new strategy on a successful model used for the Saranda forests in Jharkhand. It is called a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining. The idea is simple: you cannot have mining without a scientific plan for restoration.

​In the past, many mining companies would dig deep holes and then just leave. This destroyed the water table and left the land barren. Under the new rules, any allowed mining must have a plan to fix the land afterward. There is also a temporary freeze on any new mining leases. No new mines will start until this massive mapping project is finished.

​The Green Wall Project

​While the mining plan is about setting boundaries, the Aravalli Green Wall Project is about growth. The government is working to create a 5-kilometer green buffer zone around the range. The goal is to plant millions of trees to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

​This green wall will act as a second layer of defense. It will help trap dust, bring more rain, and give wildlife more space to live. It is a way of giving back to the mountains that have protected us for millions of years.

​Science Over Confusion

​The biggest takeaway from the Minister's announcement is the move toward transparency. When rules are vague, people find ways to break them. By setting a clear height of 100 meters and a 500-meter cluster rule, the grey areas disappear.

​Environmental activists have raised concerns that smaller hills might be ignored, but the Minister insists the new system is more inclusive. By looking at the base of the hills and the local relief, the plan tries to capture the whole landscape, not just the tall peaks.

​A Shield for the Future

​The Aravallis are often called the green lungs of North India. Without them, the dust storms from the desert would make life in cities like Gurugram and Delhi much harder. The water we drink from the ground depends on these rocky hills catching the monsoon rains.

​Demarcating these areas is a long-overdue step. It is about deciding what we value more: a few tons of stone or a stable climate for our children. With the Supreme Court watching closely and the new mapping technology in place, there is hope that the Aravallis will finally get the rest they deserve.

​Protecting a mountain range is not a one-day job. It requires constant monitoring and a shift in how we think about development. This district-wise plan is a roadmap. It tells us where we can build and where we must stop to let nature breathe. If followed strictly, it could be the shield that saves North India from becoming a desert.