More than a year after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to define the Aravalli Hills and Ranges to curb illegal mining, a high-level committee headed by the Union Environment Secretary has submitted its report proposing that any slope rising over 100 metres from the base should qualify as part of the Aravalli Hills. The report — the first to establish a uniform definition for the Aravallis — also recommends banning new mining leases within the identified hills and ranges, except for projects involving critical, strategic, or atomic minerals. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran will consider the report on 11 November and hear objections raised by various states. The eight-member committee comprised forest department secretaries from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, as well as representatives from the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Forest Survey of India (FSI), and the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which advises the court on forest and environmental matters. According to the report, “Any landform in the Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief shall be termed as Aravalli Hills.” The height is to be measured from the highest point of a slope to the lowest contour line. All land within that contour — including the hill, its slopes, and associated terrain — will form part of the Aravalli Hills. The Aravalli Range, it added, would consist of “two or more Aravalli Hills located within 500 metres of each other, measured from the outermost point of the lowest contour line.” The committee directed the concerned states to demarcate the hills and ranges using this uniform criterion, assisted by the Survey of India. Once mapped, no new mining leases — apart from those for critical and atomic minerals — will be allowed in these areas. It also urged states to identify core or inviolate zones where all mining activity must be completely prohibited. Highlighting the ecological significance of the range, the committee described the Aravallis as one of the world’s oldest fold mountain systems, dating back more than 2.5 billion years. These mountains, it said, are crucial for maintaining environmental stability in northwestern India. The committee further advised states to adopt stricter environmental safeguards for existing mines. Senior advocate K. Parmeshwar, assisting the court as amicus curiae, informed that Rajasthan and Delhi have endorsed the new definition, while Haryana has objected. Haryana argued that the classification should be based on the geological age of rocks rather than elevation, claiming the 100-metre rule would favour mining expansion in Rajasthan. The Supreme Court first banned mining in the Aravalli region in 2002. However, a 2018 Forest Survey of India report found extensive illegal mining, with 31 hillocks disappearing across over 3,000 sites in Rajasthan and Haryana. Both the FSI and CEC have since backed the inclusion of a uniform 100-metre buffer zone in the definition to prevent further degradation. The committee’s report was finally submitted on 13 October after multiple extensions, the last granted on 12 August, when the court warned that failure to deliver would invite contempt proceedings.