Definition of Aravalli hills and ranges: SC keeps in abeyance its November 20 directions
New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict that had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges.
A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih proposed to constitute a high-powered committee comprising domain experts to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue.
"We deem it necessary to direct that the recommendations submitted by the committee, together with the findings and directions stipulated by this court in the judgment of November 20, 2025, be kept in abeyance," the bench said while hearing a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues'.
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The top court said there are issues that will require clarification. It issued a notice to the Centre and others in the suo motu matter and posted it for further hearing on January 21.
The top court on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned the grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts' reports are out.
The apex court had accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges to protect the world's oldest mountain system.
The committee had recommended that "Aravalli Hill" be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
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The committee, while defining Aravalli hills, said, "Any landform located in the Aravalli districts, having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief, shall be termed as Aravalli Hills... The entire landform lying within the area enclosed by such lowest contour, whether actual or extended notionally, together with the Hill, its supporting slopes and associated landforms irrespective of their gradient, shall be deemed to constitute part of the Aravalli Hills."
The panel also defined the Aravalli Range and said, "Two or more Aravalli Hills ..., located within a proximity of 500m from each other, measured from the outermost point on the boundary of the lowest contour line on either side, form the Aravalli Range.
"The area between the two Aravalli hills is determined by first creating buffers with a width equal to the minimum distance between the lowest contour lines of both hills ... The entire area of landforms falling between the lowest contour lines of these hills, as explained, along with associated features such as Hills, Hillocks, supporting slopes, etc., shall also be included as part of the Aravalli Range."
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The apex court on November 20 delivered a 29-page judgement in the suo motu matter arising out of the long-running environmental litigation in the T N Godavarman Thirumulpad case.
"We further accept the recommendations with regard to the prohibition of mining in core/inviolate areas with exception as carved out of the ... committee's report," the top court had said.
It had also accepted the recommendations for sustainable mining and the steps to be taken for preventing illegal mining in the Aravali Hills and Ranges.
VIDEO | Delhi: Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari, on the Supreme Court to hear suo motu case on the Aravalli Hills today, says, “We are thankful that judicial intervention has come in… They have to, once and all, give a precedent that this is not gonna happen. I think it's… pic.twitter.com/SRvmByWs8B
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025
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Interoceanic Train derails in southern Mexico, killing at least 13 and injuring dozens
Mexico City (AP): Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.
The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda.
“The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.
She said she instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.
In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured.
Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.
The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) .
