They’re like the last green shield keeping the Thar Desert from swallowing up Delhi and Gurgaon. Billions of years old, recharging our groundwater, home to leopards and rare birds, stopping dust storms – but for decades, politicians and builders have been chipping away at them, trying to turn paradise into profit.
Take the DRDO saga back in the early 2000s. They eyed hundreds of acres in Faridabad’s Aravallis for a fancy weapons research facility. Paid crores to the local corporation, grabbed the land even though it was protected under old forest laws. Supreme Court stepped in, called it out – nothing got built, total waste, but it showed how even “national security” gets used as an excuse to nibble at the hills.
Then under Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Congress government, around 2007-2012, they pushed hard for a massive tech park in Mangar village – right in the heart of these sacred groves. Mangar Bani’s this incredible untouched forest, full of ancient trees and wildlife. The plan would’ve opened up thousands of hectares for development. Activists fought tooth and nail, central government blocked it, NCR board said no way – dodged a bullet there, or we’d have malls instead of monkeys.
Switch to BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar in 2019 – assembly passes this sneaky amendment to the Punjab Land Preservation Act. Boom, suddenly 60,000 acres of protected Aravalli land could’ve been fair game for mining and real estate. Builders were probably high-fiving. But Supreme Court slammed a stay, basically told the state, “You’re trying to destroy forests, knock it off.”
And now, fast forward to late 2025 – this fresh controversy blows up. Supreme Court accepts a new definition: only hills rising 100 meters above local ground count as “Aravalli.” Critics are losing it, saying this wipes out protection for over 90% of the range, especially the lower scrub hills that are crucial for water and biodiversity. Protests everywhere from Gurugram to Udaipur, activists calling it a death warrant. Opposition screams it’s for mining mafias and builders. Government pushes back hard – Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav says no new mining leases anyway, court’s frozen them till a sustainable plan’s ready, and this definition’s just for clarity, not opening floodgates. They brag mining’s only on 0.19% of the area, and protections stay strong.
But come on, even if mining’s paused, derecognizing those lower hills could greenlight farmhouses, roads, luxury retreats – we’ve seen illegal ones popping up and getting demolished, but the pressure’s relentless. Haryana’s got the lowest forest cover in India, air’s toxic, water tables dropping – losing more Aravallis means more dust, floods, heat, no recharge. It’s the same old politician-builder nexus, yaar – quick bucks for a few, screwing the rest of us and our kids. Courts and activists keep saving the day, but how long? These hills have guarded us forever; time we guard them back before they’re just memories in photos.
