The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the recent redefinition of the Aravalli Hills on Saturday. It will hear the matter on Monday with a three-judge Special Vacation Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. In a November judgment, the court accepted Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommendations. These defined 'Aravalli Hills' as any landform at least 100 metres above local relief. The ‘Aravalli Range’ means two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. The court 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 said, “Two or more Aravalli Hills, located within a proximity of 500 metres from each other... shall constitute the Aravalli Range.” The court accepted the panel’s recommendations on sustainable mining and preventing illegal mining in the Aravalli region. It ordered authorities to find areas for mining and zones where mining is banned or allowed only under strict conditions. “We further direct that till the MPSM (Management Plan for Sustainable Mining) is finalised by the MoEF&CC through ICFRE, no new mining leases should be granted,” said the court. The court recognised the Aravallis as a vital “green barrier” stopping the Thar desert’s eastward spread. The hearing on Monday will review these definitions and mining rules amid environmental concerns.