By: Express News ServiceNew Delhi | December 25, 2025 05:25 AM IST 3 min readThe Supreme Court bench, headed by then Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, directed that till the MPSM is finalised, no new mining lease should be granted.Amid the pressure on the protection of the Aravalli hills and range, the Union Environment Ministry Wednesday wrote to the state governments of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat and reiterated the Supreme Court’s directions from its November 20 order, to not grant new mining leases till the Management Plan on Sustainable Mining (MPSM) is finalised.The ministry also wrote to the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), directing it to look into the entire Aravalli landscape while preparing MPSM and identify all such land forms/zones where mining needs to be prohibited.This, it said in its letter, will be in addition to the areas which already stand prohibited for mining, including the core/inviolate areas and the hills and ranges so that the same could also be conserved and protected.“Concerned state governments are hereby requested to take necessary action for compliance of above directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and ensure that no new mining leases shall be granted till the Management Plan on Sustainable Mining is finalised by the MoEF&CC through ICFRE,” the Ministry stated in its letter to the state governments dated December 24.The Centre has also directed that for the mines already in operation, the state governments concerned shall ensure strict compliance with all environmental safeguards and in conformity with the Supreme Court’s order. “Ongoing mining activities are to be regulated stringently, with additional restrictions, to ensure environmental protection and adherence to sustainable mining practices,” it said in a press release.On November 20, the Supreme Court had accepted a new uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills — any landform at an elevation of 100 metres or more above the local relief, and the range was defined as the extent of 500 m between two or more hills.The Supreme Court bench, headed by then Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, directed that till the MPSM is finalised, no new mining lease should be granted.Story continues below this adIt had also directed that the sustainable mining plan must “identify permissible areas for mining, ecologically sensitive, conservation-critical and restoration priority areas within the Aravalli landscape where mining shall be strictly prohibited or permitted only under exceptional and scientifically justified circumstances.This plan is to be prepared on the lines of the one carried out by ICFRE for Saranda forests in Jharkhand, for iron ore mining.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Aravallis