Rajasthan's Illegal Mining Crisis in the Aravalli Districts

Q: What makes the Aravalli range ecologically and strategically significant for north-west India?

The Aravalli range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world and plays a critical ecological role in an otherwise arid and semi-arid landscape. Ecologically, it acts as a natural barrier that slows the eastward spread of sand and dust from the Thar Desert into eastern Rajasthan, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. It also supports groundwater recharge , stabilises local climate conditions and moderates extreme temperatures. Strategically, the Aravallis function as a vital wildlife corridor . Rajasthan alone hosts 16 of the 22 wildlife sanctuaries in the Aravalli landscape, including major tiger reserves such as Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra. Fragmentation of these hills through mining directly threatens habitat continuity and biodiversity. Therefore, the Aravallis are not merely geological formations but natural infrastructure supporting ecological security, water security and biodiversity conservation, making their protection a matter of long-term public interest.

Q: What are the environmental and socio-economic consequences of unregulated mining in the Aravallis?

Environmentally, illegal mining accelerates land degradation, deforestation and groundwater depletion . The destruction of hill structures weakens the Aravallis’ ability to act as a desert barrier, increasing the risk of desertification and dust pollution across north-west India. Socio-economically, unregulated mining undermines legitimate livelihoods by distorting local economies and depriving the State of revenue. It also increases conflict between communities, enforcement agencies and mining interests, leading to law-and-order challenges. In the long run, these impacts impose hidden economic costs through loss of ecosystem services, making illegal mining not just an environmental issue but a development and governance challenge.

Proposed legislative changes could worsen illegal mining, further threatening the Aravalli range's ecological balance.

Surya

•January 15, 2026•5 mins read

Aravalli districts face rampant illegal mining amid legal uncertainty and ecological risks

1. Aravalli Landscape as the Epicentre of Illegal Mining

The Aravalli range in Rajasthan has emerged as the focal point of the State’s mining governance crisis. Although these districts host roughly 70% of the Aravalli range, their contribution to legal mining activity is comparatively modest.

Despite accounting for less than 45% of Rajasthan’s mining leases and only 40% of its total mineral output, Aravalli districts register a disproportionately high incidence of illegal mining. This reveals a structural enforcement deficit concentrated in a specific ecological region.

The concentration of illegal activity indicates that regulatory mechanisms are weaker precisely where ecological sensitivity is highest. If unaddressed, this undermines both environmental protection and the rule of law.

The core governance issue is spatial mismatch: areas with the highest ecological value are also where regulatory capacity and legal clarity are most fragile.

Key statistics:

Share of illegal mining cases from Aravalli districts: >56%
Share of FIRs related to illegal mining: >77%
Share of legal mineral output: ~40%

2. Legal Ambiguity in Defining the Aravalli Hills

A central driver of illegal mining has been the absence of a uniform, legally consistent definition of what constitutes an “Aravalli hill.” This definitional ambiguity has enabled selective interpretation and regulatory evasion across States.

Since 2010, expert agencies such as the Forest Survey of India (FSI) have used physical parameters — slope, foothill buffers, valley width, and hill enclosure — to identify Aravalli formations. However, these criteria lacked statutory uniformity.

Recognising this gap, the Supreme Court in May 2024 flagged inconsistent definitions as a key enabler of illegal mining and initiated steps to evolve a scientifically robust, nationally applicable definition.

Without legal clarity, enforcement agencies remain constrained, allowing mining activities to exploit definitional grey zones.

Clear legal definitions are foundational to environmental governance; ambiguity directly translates into regulatory leakage.

3. Institutional Responses and the Ongoing Legal Tussle

To resolve definitional inconsistencies, the Supreme Court constituted a committee led by the Union Environment Secretary, involving the FSI, Geological Survey of India, State Forest Departments, and the Central Empowered Committee.

A technical committee in 2024 proposed that landforms with a slope of at least 4.57 degrees and a minimum height of 30 metres be classified as Aravalli hills. This approach aimed to preserve ecological continuity using scientific criteria.

However, the Environment Ministry suggested a narrower definition, limiting Aravalli hills to landforms rising 100 metres above local relief and clustering hills within 500 metres. This approach was reflected in the Supreme Court’s November 2025 order.

Experts, including the FSI and the amicus curiae, warned that this narrower definition could exclude large portions of the range, potentially opening them to mining. Subsequent public protests led the Court to keep the judgment in abeyance and the Union government to freeze new mining leases in the interim.

The episode highlights institutional tension between ecological science and administrative convenience, with long-term consequences for conservation.

4. Implications for Rajasthan’s Mining Governance

Reclassification of landforms has direct regulatory consequences. Areas excluded from the Aravalli definition fall outside specific mining controls and moratoria, making them vulnerable to legal and illegal extraction.

The stakes are particularly high for Rajasthan, which contains about 560 km of the ~800 km long Aravalli range and 20 of the 37 Aravalli districts. The State also hosts 16 of the 22 wildlife sanctuaries in the Aravalli landscape, including three tiger reserves — Ranthambore, Sariska, and Mukundra.

Data from 2020–2023 show that illegal mining is geographically concentrated: 15,772 of 28,166 cases were registered in Aravalli districts, alongside nearly 77.5% of related FIRs. Yet these districts produced only 918.8 million tonnes, or 40.6%, of the State’s mineral output between 2015–2022.

This imbalance shows that the Aravallis bear a disproportionate burden of mining-related lawlessness without commensurate economic gains.

Weak spatial regulation converts ecologically sensitive regions into enforcement blind spots.

5. Ecological Significance of the Aravalli Range

Beyond mining and law, the Aravallis perform critical ecological functions in north-west India. As one of the world’s oldest mountain systems, they act as a natural barrier slowing the eastward spread of sand and dust from the Thar Desert.

The range supports groundwater recharge in an arid and semi-arid region, moderates local climate, and serves as an important wildlife corridor linking fragmented habitats.

Degradation of the Aravallis therefore has cascading impacts across Rajasthan, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh. If protections are diluted, ecological damage could become irreversible.

Environmental governance failures in the Aravallis translate into regional climate, water, and biodiversity risks.

Conclusion

The crisis in the Aravalli landscape reflects deeper governance challenges at the intersection of environmental law, scientific expertise, and mineral regulation. Ensuring a scientifically grounded and legally uniform definition of the Aravallis is essential to curb illegal mining and protect a critical ecological system. Over the long term, regulatory clarity and institutional coherence will determine whether development and conservation can be balanced sustainably in Rajasthan.

Quick Q&A

Everything you need to know

The Aravalli range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world and plays a critical ecological role in an otherwise arid and semi-arid landscape. Ecologically, it acts as a natural barrier that slows the eastward spread of sand and dust from the Thar Desert into eastern Rajasthan, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. It also supports groundwater recharge, stabilises local climate conditions and moderates extreme temperatures.

Strategically, the Aravallis function as a vital wildlife corridor. Rajasthan alone hosts 16 of the 22 wildlife sanctuaries in the Aravalli landscape, including major tiger reserves such as Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra. Fragmentation of these hills through mining directly threatens habitat continuity and biodiversity.

Therefore, the Aravallis are not merely geological formations but natural infrastructure supporting ecological security, water security and biodiversity conservation, making their protection a matter of long-term public interest.

Data in the article reveal a structural paradox: while Aravalli districts account for less than 45% of mining leases and about 40% of legal mineral output, they account for over 56% of illegal mining cases and nearly 77% of FIRs. This indicates weak regulatory enforcement rather than higher mining potential.

One major reason is the ambiguous legal definition of what constitutes an Aravalli hill. This ambiguity creates regulatory grey zones that illegal miners exploit. Fragmented oversight across departments and high demand for construction material further incentivise unlawful extraction.

Thus, the concentration of illegal mining reflects a governance failure, where ecological vulnerability, legal uncertainty and enforcement gaps intersect, disproportionately burdening the Aravalli landscape.

The Supreme Court observed that inconsistent definitions across States have been a key enabler of illegal mining. When landforms are not uniformly classified as Aravalli hills, they may fall outside mining moratoriums and environmental safeguards, even if they are ecologically part of the range.

Expert bodies like the Forest Survey of India (FSI) have used scientific parameters such as slope, hill height, valley width and buffer zones since 2010. However, newer proposals—particularly the 100-metre local relief criterion—risk excluding a large number of smaller hills from protection.

This definitional uncertainty creates enforcement loopholes, allowing miners to legally contest restrictions. Hence, clarity and scientific consistency in definition are essential tools for effective environmental governance.

The Supreme Court’s November 2025 order sought to resolve definitional ambiguity by adopting a simplified criterion based on local relief of 100 metres. While this approach aimed to bring administrative clarity and curb illegal mining, it has attracted serious criticism from scientific experts and the amicus curiae.

The major concern is that such a narrow definition could exclude a large proportion of Aravalli hills, especially low-height but ecologically connected landforms. This risks fragmenting the mountain system and opening previously protected areas to mining.

Thus, while the intention was regulatory efficiency, the outcome could undermine ecological integrity. The subsequent stay on the judgment reflects the need to balance administrative simplicity with scientific robustness in environmental adjudication.

Environmentally, illegal mining accelerates land degradation, deforestation and groundwater depletion. The destruction of hill structures weakens the Aravallis’ ability to act as a desert barrier, increasing the risk of desertification and dust pollution across north-west India.

Socio-economically, unregulated mining undermines legitimate livelihoods by distorting local economies and depriving the State of revenue. It also increases conflict between communities, enforcement agencies and mining interests, leading to law-and-order challenges.

In the long run, these impacts impose hidden economic costs through loss of ecosystem services, making illegal mining not just an environmental issue but a development and governance challenge.

The Aravalli case exemplifies a common governance dilemma in India: balancing resource extraction with ecological protection under conditions of legal ambiguity and administrative fragmentation. Despite judicial oversight and expert input, enforcement on the ground remains weak.

Similar patterns can be observed in other regions, such as illegal sand mining in riverbeds or coal mining in forested areas, where ecological costs are externalised while economic gains are privatised. The Aravalli experience shows that courts alone cannot resolve such crises without strong institutional follow-through.

Therefore, this case highlights the need for science-based definitions, inter-agency coordination and community participation to make environmental governance both effective and credible.

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