Supreme Court Forms Expert Panel to Reassess Aravalli Hill Range Definition and Protection Measures

June 3, 2026 : The Supreme Court has constituted a high-powered expert committee to independently review the Centre’s report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range, a move aimed at strengthening the protection of one of India’s most ecologically significant mountain systems. The committee will be headed by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), and has been directed to submit its findings by August 31.

The apex court observed that an impartial, scientific, and evidence-based assessment is necessary to address critical concerns surrounding the conservation of the Aravalli ecosystem. The decision comes after the court had stayed the implementation of a report submitted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in October last year and called for a fresh evaluation by independent experts.

The newly constituted panel will examine whether the criteria proposed in the Centre’s report for identifying Aravalli hills could substantially reduce the area currently covered by environmental safeguards, potentially opening ecologically sensitive regions to mining and other developmental activities.

The committee has also been tasked with evaluating the scientific validity of the elevation-based criteria adopted in the report and determining whether existing regulatory mechanisms are sufficient to ensure long-term protection of the Aravalli range. The panel comprises experts from the fields of forestry, geology, ecology, and environmental science.