The Aravalli Question & India’s Use of “Strategic Exemptions”

Context

• Renewed debate after Supreme Court orders (Nov–Dec 2025) on protection of the Aravalli Hills.

• Tension between:

  • Climate & environmental commitments

  • Industrial demand for critical and strategic minerals

• Defence establishment highlights critical minerals as essential for:

  • Defence manufacturing

  • Operational readiness

  • Reducing import dependence
    → Linked to National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM).

What is the Aravalli Hills Issue?

About the Aravallis

• One of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

• Acts as:

  • Groundwater recharge zone

  • Barrier against desertification

  • Regulator of air quality & microclimate

• Already stressed by:

  • Illegal mining

  • Urban expansion

  • Denudation

  • Falling water table

Supreme Court Intervention (Nov 20, 2025)

1. Uniform definition of Aravalli Hills & Ranges for mining regulation

2. Freeze on new mining leases until:

   • MoEFCC prepares a sustainable mining plan

3. Prohibition of mining in:

   • “Core” / “inviolate” areas

4. Exception carved out:

   • For critical, strategic, and atomic minerals

   • Under MMDR Act, 1957

   • Termed a “strategic exemption”

Operational Definition

• Aravalli Hill:

  • Landform ≥ 100 m above local relief

• Aravalli Range:

  • Two or more such hills within 500 m

Criticism

• Creates fragmented ‘island’ landscapes

• Ignores:

  • Valleys, plains, scrublands, forests

  • Ecological connectivity

• Weakens enforcement in a fragile ecosystem

📌 Result: Supreme Court kept the definition in abeyance and set up a new committee.

What is the Problem with “Strategic Exemptions”?

Absence of Clear Rules

• India lacks transparent criteria to resolve:

  • Climate commitments vs

  • Strategic / industrial imperatives

• Relies instead on:

  • Executive discretion

  • Office memoranda

  • Project-specific exemptions

  • Post-facto regularisation

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Concerns

• EIA framework allows exemption from:

  • Public consultation

• For projects linked to:

  • “Security”

  • “Strategic considerations”

  • As determined by Central Government

📌 Issue:

• “National interest” becomes opaque and arbitrary

• Reduces:

  • Public scrutiny

  • Community participation

  • Scientific accountability

Key Government & Judicial Actions (Since 2014)

1. Softening of Environmental Clearances

• Continuous dilution for:

  • Ease of doing business

  • Faster project approvals

2. Ex Post Facto Environmental Clearances

• May 2025:

  • SC ruled post-facto clearances:

    • “Anathema” to EIA

    • Violates principle of prior scrutiny

• November 2025:

  • SC recalled the judgment

  • Reopened space for:

    • Post-facto regularisation

    • With built-in legal uncertainty

📌 Impact: Regulatory ambiguity + weakened deterrence

3. Office Memorandum on Critical Minerals (Sept 2025)

• Mining projects involving critical minerals:

  • Exempted from public consultation

• Justified using:

  • “Strategic considerations” clause in EIA Notification 2006

• Defended in Parliament on:

  • National security grounds

4. Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023

Key changes:

• Act applies only to:

  • Forests notified under IFA, 1927

  • Forests recorded after Oct 25, 1980

• Exemptions:

  • Forest land converted before Dec 12, 1996

  • Land along roads, railways, borders

  • Areas near security-related infrastructure

• Expanded list of activities:

  • Not treated as “non-forest purpose”

Practical Effects

• Easier:

  • Mineral exploration

  • Infrastructure in forest & LWE-affected districts

• Enables:

  • Drilling, sampling, roads, power lines

• Mining not exempted outright, but:

  • Scope creep + weak oversight

Why the Aravalli Issue is Critical

Ecological Importance

• Prevents:

  • Desertification

  • Groundwater depletion

• Supports:

  • SDGs (clean air, water security, liveable habitats)

Strategic & Economic Importance

• Potential deposits of:

  • Base metals

  • Tungsten

  • Lithium

  • Rare earth elements

  • Bulk minerals (stone, rock)

• Important for:

  • Defence

  • Green energy transition

📌 Risk: Strategic value + weakened safeguards = ecological tipping point

Core Governance Problem

• Reduced public access to:

  • Environmental data

  • Impact assessments

• Claims of:

  • “Sustainable mining”

  • “Circular economy of critical minerals”

• Become harder to verify

📌 Result:
Climate action and economic growth collide via ad hoc decisions, while environmental law absorbs political pressure.

Way Forward

Need for a Binding Framework

If “strategic exemptions” are to be allowed:

1. Clear, binding test for:

   • When strategic considerations justify relaxed procedures

2. Mandatory landscape-level assessments:

   • Cumulative environmental impact

   • Groundwater impact

3. Public disclosure of:

   • Alternatives examined:

     • Imports

     • Recycling

     • Substitution

     • Sourcing from less sensitive areas

4. Limit executive discretion

   • Through statutory rules, not ad hoc orders

Conclusion

The Aravalli controversy exposes a deeper governance deficit in India’s environmental regime: the absence of transparent rules to arbitrate between climate responsibility and strategic ambition. Without a clear, accountable framework for “strategic exemptions,” environmental protection risks being hollowed out through negotiated exceptions, undermining both climate credibility and the rule of law.

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