An aerial view of some hills in the Aravalli range surrounded by dense settlements in Haryana. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)Ahead of the Supreme Court-constituted high-powered committee’s (HPC) August 31 deadline to submit its report on the examination of the Aravallis issue, Rajasthan’s Leader of Opposition Congress MLA Tikaram Jully, MPs from Rajasthan and noted independent experts like ecologist Pradip Krishen have written to the panel flagging inadequate engagement with mining-impacted communities, and urged the panel to seek more time from the court to evaluate the issues.In his letter to the panel dated August 25, Jully has pointed out gaps in the stakeholder engagement across Rajasthan and stressed that the panel covered very few districts, even as the Aravalli’s extent is mostly across Rajasthan.Rajkumar Roat, an MP from the Bharat Adivasi Party representing Banswara, and Amra Ram, an MP from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) representing Sikar, are among the parliamentarians who have submitted their views to the HPC. They highlighted the health and environmental issues that communities in the Aravalli region are facing due to mining activities.The HPC had called for stakeholder comments for a 21-day period, which ended on August 11. Civil society groups, environmental activists and mining-impacted communities have been demanding that the HPC seek more time to submit its report, as the panel has visited only a limited number of urban areas in the Aravallis.Banswara MP Roat, who belongs to the Bhil community, said that tribal people have lived in the Aravalli hills, forests and rivers since time immemorial, and mining leases have caused significant damage in the region. Roat demanded that the HPC’s deadline for its report submissions be extended, and that this be followed by a new notice allowing face-to-face discussions with the people with adequate time.“The committee should also consult with health experts, and the leases of mining companies that violated regulations should be cancelled and responsibility for damages determined,” he said in his letter dated August 14.Sikar MP Amra Ram made more specific demands, including seeking protection for the Girjan River and the forests and ‘oran’ or sacred groves along the river stretch. “The Girjan River ecosystem, which includes 40 villages, hamlets, and the Buchara dam, be declared a mining and stone crushing zone,” the CPI(M) MP said. He also sought protection for the Sota and Katli rivers in Kotputli and Jhunjhunu districts.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Why the Aravallis matter for the climate, air, and water of north India plainsEcologist Pradip Krishen wrote in an email to the HPC that the panel had a historic opportunity to save the natural barrier against desertification, and the aquifers it is home to. Krishen said that a cumulative and independent environmental and social impact study for all 63 Aravallis districts, as mentioned in the Forest Survey of India’s September 2025 report, is needed.“The study must be done by one or more reputable independent institutions along with different domain experts from the fields of ecology, geology, public health, wildlife, etc. This study will give a clear picture of the carrying capacity of the Aravalli range. Mindlessly mining North India’s lifeline for clean air and water security for building stone and exporting marble and granite to foreign countries makes no sense when we are one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change and pollution, and heat levels are soaring,” he said. Krishen has led degraded land restoration projects in Rajasthan.The HPC was formed in May this year with a mandate, among other things, to resolve critical ambiguities pertaining to an earlier report submitted by a panel led by the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Supreme Court had earlier accepted this previous panel’s recommendation defining the Aravallis as any landform within the region with an elevation of 100 metres or above the local relief, including its slopes and adjacent land. However, the court stayed its own order in December 2025.An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More