Congress MP Ajay Maken raises Aravalli ‘100-metre rule’ concern in Parliament

The Supreme Court on November 20 accepted a uniform, elevation-based definition of the Aravalli Hills given by a Centre-appointed expert committee

Congress MP and former Union minister Ajay Maken on Monday raised the issue of dilution of Aravalli definition during the Zero Hour in the ongoing Parliament’s Winter Session on Monday.

The proposed “100-meter rule” is a disconnect between legal terminology and ecological reality. (ANI photo)

He urged the immediate withdrawal of the criterion proposed to prevent North India from becoming a ‘dust bowl.’

The Supreme Court on November 20 accepted a uniform, elevation-based definition of the Aravalli Hills given by a Centre-appointed expert committee.

HT had reported on October 16 that a high-level committee headed by the Union environment secretary has submitted its report to the court, proposing that any slope with a height of more than 100 metres, measured from the top, will qualify as Aravalli hills.

“The Aravalli mountain range is 2.5 billion years old. Now, the Aravalli range stands at a crucial juncture in its 2.5 billion-year history. It has withstood the collision of continents. It has withstood eons of erosion. Now it faces its greatest threat: an “administrative definition”, Maken said.

“The proposed “100-meter rule” is a disconnect between legal terminology and ecological reality, risking the destruction of the “Green Wall” that protects North India from the desert,” Maken said.

Further, from a hydrological perspective, the Aravalli rocks have a unique secondary porosity, allowing water to seep through these rocks and replenish the groundwater.

This region has the capacity for approximately 2 million liters of groundwater recharge per hectare per year. For districts like Gurugram and Faridabad, these aquifers are the only source of fresh water, he said.

“Despite this, this resource is being plundered through illegal mining”, he said.

A 2018 report by the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) revealed that 25% of the Aravalli range in Rajasthan has been destroyed due to illegal mining since the late 1960s. In Alwar district alone, 31 out of 128 hills have completely disappeared—they have been flattened,” Maken who was Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led government.

“The situation has now reached a critical point. On November 20, 2025, a new definition was adopted: an “Aravalli hill” must be 100 meters or more above its local ground level.

Internal data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI) indicates that Rajasthan has 1,07,498 Aravalli hills, but only 1,048 of them are more than 100 meters above the local ground level. This means that 99% of the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan will lose their legal recognition and protection. The 100-meter rule will result in an ecological disaster… the destruction of these hills will eliminate the water recharge zones. In mining areas, the water table has already dropped to a depth of 1,000 to 2,000 feet. I urge the government to immediately withdraw this “local ground level” criterion to prevent North India from becoming a ‘dust bowl,’” Maken said.