The renewed debate over the Aravalli hills exposes a familiar fault line in India’s environmental governance: the tension between ecological complexity and administrative simplicity. What appears, on the surface, to be a technical redefinition of hills is in fact a decision with profound implications for land use, climate resilience, and the survival of fragile ecosystems in north-western India. The Aravallis are among the oldest mountain systems on Earth, but their importance today lies not in dramatic peaks or dense forests. Much of their ecological value resides in low, scrub-covered ridges and shallow undulations that slow desertification, recharge aquifers, and act as a climatic buffer against the advancing Thar.

These understated landscapes rarely fit popular notions of “hills,” yet they quietly sustain agriculture, groundwater and habitability across Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. By tying protection to a minimum elevation threshold, policymakers risk mistaking visibility........

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