Aravalli Row: Will the Supreme Court hear the Aravalli case again? Environmental activist and lawyer Hitendra Gandhi wrote a letter to CJI and President

New Delhi. The matter related to the alleged weakening of environmental safeguards protecting the Aravalli Range has once again reached the Supreme Court, in which environmental activist and lawyer Hitendra Gandhi has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to review the ‘100-meter test’ rule.

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A copy of lawyer Gandhi’s letter has also been sent to the President of India Draupadi Murmu. The letter seeks review of the Supreme Court’s decision to approve the recommendation of the Ministry of Environment on the definition of the Aravalli hills and range. According to the new definition, ‘Aravalli Hills are any landform in the designated Aravalli districts whose height is 100 meters or more above their local terrain and Aravali Range is a group of two or more such hills that are within 500 meters of each other.

Concerns of environmentalists

This has sparked major controversy as environmentalists claim that the new definition could eliminate 90% of the region due to the lack of legal protection. Gandhi said in his letter that ‘the 100-metre rule risks excluding large ecologically important areas that do not meet the numerical height limit, but are functionally essential,’ adding that it is important to protect low hills and water recharge areas.

Appeal in Supreme Court

Advocate Gandhi has appealed to CJI Surya Kant to reconsider or clean up the definition framework adopted for identification of Aravalli hills and mountain ranges in his recent order dated November 20, 2025. It also warned that altitude-based criteria could inadvertently weaken environmental protection across northwest India.

Reference to constitutional principles

Gandhi based his arguments on constitutional principles, citing the right to a healthy environment guaranteed by Article 21, Articles 48A and 51A(g), which impose a duty on the state and citizens to protect the environment.