The Aravalli mountain range, an ancient geological formation that predates the Himalayas, is at the centre of a high-stakes legal and ecological battle. The hills have been subjected to intensive quarrying and mining in Rajasthan and Haryana, while construction and urban sprawl have shrunk them in the National Capital Region. Recently, the Supreme Court paused the controversial order identifying the mountains based on their height, which could have wiped out the legal protection of a large part of the range. However, the crisis persists. With over 1,200 active mining leases hollowing out hills, it is time our policymakers “think like a mountain” — a term coined by the ecologist Aldo Leopold.

In his classic, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold describes how, in his youth, hunting wolves was a celebrated sport — fewer wolves would mean more deer, a hunter’s veritable........

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