Not just the Himalayas, the Aravallis too

For a moment, it seemed as if good sense would prevail when it came to the proposed ‘Aravalli Zoo Safari project’, billed as ‘the world’s largest’ and expected to cost at least Rs 1,000 crore.

On 8 October, a bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran gave the Haryana government seven days to respond to a petition filed by five retired Indian Forest Service officers and an NGO People for Aravallis.

Taking on board the petitioners’ warning that the project ‘prioritises commercial interests over restoration of the region that is Delhi-NCR’s only barrier against desertification, a critical water recharge zone, pollution sink, climate regulator and wildlife habitat’, the court ordered a halt until further notice.

On 14 October, the Haryana government issued a counter-affidavit, defending the project and denying the use of compensatory afforestation funds.

As reported in the Indian Express on 16 October, the affidavit declared that the park — initially proposed by the tourism department — has been handed over to the forest and wildlife department, which has ‘identified the most degraded area of 3,300 acres… located in one corner out of the earlier proposed 10,000 acres and submitted the DPR (Detailed Project Report) to Central Zoo Authority (CZA)… for approval’.

It also claimed the project had ‘no commercial value’, that the affected villages had no objections and neither groundwater nor animal corridors would be affected. Far from being a ‘death knell’, it was in fact a ‘conservation initiative’.

Petitioners and experts insist those claims are barefaced lies.

Over four decades, vast swathes of the Aravallis have been destroyed by mining, deforestation and overexploitation of its fragile and ancient water channels. A good 560 km of this 692 km range runs through Rajasthan, with its tail end in Haryana and Delhi.

Haryana land grab: only Aravalli if 100m high and billion years old rock

The BJP governments in these three states have had no qualms about lifting legal protections for one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. Favouring real estate and mining interests without giving a toss for water scarcity, dust pollution and extreme weather events that adversely impact millions of people, including those in the NCR.

In the run-up to the events outlined above, the Haryana mines and geology department, in a letter dated 4 October, urged the state environment and forests department to redefine the Aravallis — only those hills rising over 100 metres above surrounding terrain be classified as ‘Aravalli Hills and Ranges’.

Former conservator of forests M.D. Sinha argues that the height of hills has no bearing on their ecological value, and redefining the Aravallis thus is a fatal step. Not only would the Gurgaon and Faridabad sections no longer be mandated as forests, other ranges like the Eastern Ghats and Shivaliks would no longer be categorised as mountain systems.

“If this categorisation is accepted,” says geologist and retired Indian Forest Officer Yog Vedant, “99 per cent of the range — effectively the entire Aravallis — will be opened up for commercial mining, real estate and infrastructure projects”.

That is precisely what is happening.

While the counter-affidavit denies contiguity to Gurugram, Faridabad or the NCR, petitioners point out that the proposed park will be built near Sakatpur village in southern Gurugram. Specialised enclosures for big cats, an aviary, a herpetarium, an underwater world exhibit and more will entail ‘large-scale construction of permanent structures… as well as extensive infrastructure facilities such as roads, electrical and communication networks, and firefighting systems’, which ‘would inevitably result in severe and irreversible ecological damage to an already fragile ecosystem… home to rich floral and faunal diversity’.

Where is the incentive for Himalayan states to protect their environment?

Vedant wonders why more people aren’t questioning the project’s viability. “Gurgaon already faces acute water shortage. Where will the water for such a large zoo come from? Will the animals be able to survive?” Another environmentalist fears this is another Vantara in the making, and that the whole project will be handed over to the Ambanis.

Haryana enjoys the dubious distinction of being the state with the lowest forest cover (3.6 per cent). The state government seems hellbent on destroying even this.

Haryana’s new definition of forests — a minimum of 5 hectares (2 hectares if adjoining notified forests) with a minimum canopy density of 0.4 — along with the proposed new definition of the Aravalli hills is the death knell the state refuses to acknowledge.

Our policymakers seem oblivious to the vital role of the Aravallis as a climate influencer, regulating rainfall and moderating temperatures in the upper Indo-Gangetic plain. Considered the ‘lungs’ of one of the world’s most polluted regions, they also form the only natural barrier preventing the Thar desert from advancing into eastern Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

While the Aravallis were protected under the NCR Regional Plan 2021, the Draft Regional Plan 2041 does not even mention the word ‘Aravalli’. Equally alarming is that ‘Natural Conservation Zones’ are now being called ‘Natural Zones’. Clearly, conservation is no longer important. The tributaries and floodplains of the rivers that flow into the Yamuna, Ganga, Hindon, Kali and Chamba have also been excluded.

The Aravallis, with their natural fissures, can recharge up to two million litres of water per hectare annually, making them vital for groundwater-starved regions like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Delhi, and parts of Haryana and Rajasthan — where extraction exceeds recharge by 300 per cent. Neelam Ahluwalia, founding member of People for Aravallis, warns that ongoing mining has caused irreversible damage; further destruction will turn Haryana into a desert.

State governments profit heavily from mining: Rajasthan earned around Rs 10,000 crore in 2024 and expects over Rs 12,950 crore in FY26. Even a small state like Haryana, which permits mining in only three of its districts, earned around Rs 53.35 crore in the first half of 2025–26, according to the state mines and geology department.

The damage done by mining goes beyond the destruction of natural landscapes and increase in ambient dust load. Blasting and drilling has severely harmed the Aravalli’s water aquifers. Groundwater levels in south Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat continue to plummet, making drinking water scarce and agriculture difficult.

Kailash Meena from Rajasthan’s Neem Ka Thana has been fighting to protect the Aravallis since 1998. His is not an academic fight but a mobilisation of the people through padayatras and jan sabhas.

Despite six assassination attempts and 24 cases against him, he continues to oppose illegal mining, which he believes has already destroyed 25 per cent of the Aravallis in Rajasthan. The worst part is that chemicals used in blasting operations penetrate the soil and end up contaminating groundwater and rivers. Most locals, Meena says, “suffer from waterborne diseases and respiratory illnesses like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and silicosis. Layers of dust render crops unfit for consumption or sale.”