Rajasthan 'quietly allowed' resorts, farmhouses on Aravalli hill terrain, report reveals

Aravalli hills

• Rajasthan reclassifies Aravalli hills, permits low-density projects on key slopes.
• Experts warn new rules may erode Aravalli foothills and transitional zones.
• Conservationists to challenge commercial construction on hills in court

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Amid intense national scrutiny over mining threats to the Aravallis and as the Supreme Court initiates suo motu proceedings, it has emerged that the Rajasthan government had quietly opened significant stretches of this ancient hill range within urban areas to a variety of construction activities.

Approved in April 2025, the state’s Model Regulations for Conservation of Hills in Urban Areas, 2024, reclassify hill slopes, permitting "low-density" projects on terrain previously considered more protected, The Indian Express reported.

The regulations categorise hills based on gradient. While areas with slopes exceeding 15 degrees (Category C) are declared non-developable, crucial middle-ground slopes between 8 and 15 degrees (Category B) are now earmarked for farmhouses, resorts, wellness centres, amusement parks and solar projects. Hills with slopes up to 8 degrees fall into Category A, where development aligns with standard urban planning.

This reclassification is pivotal. Category B encompasses substantial portions of the Aravallis within city limits. Experts warn this move effectively brings the range’s gently sloping foothills and transitional zones into the realm of routine urban development, blurring the critical line between plains and ecologically sensitive hill systems under the banner of regulated, low-density use.

The state’s framework directly contradicts the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) long-standing formula for defining the Aravallis, which considers all land above a minimum elevation of 115 metres in Rajasthan with a slope of at least 3 degrees as part of the range.

As per the report, the government maintains that Rajasthan’s new regulations balance conservation with regulated development. However, conservationists argue the permitted activities risk incremental, irreversible erosion of one of North India’s oldest and most fragile mountain chains.

The detailed provisions for Category B permit resorts on plots as small as two hectares and religious or wellness centres on one hectare. Farmhouses are allowed with specific coverage limits and hill cutting of up to three metres is permissible with approvals.

While the rules mandate 40% plantation and prohibit basements, they also grant the state discretionary powers. For instance, construction on crestlines is barred in principle but can be allowed after a "technical examination" of naturally flat areas.

Similarly, the strictly protected Category C zones, with slopes over 15 degrees, contain exceptions for public utilities and grant the government power to permit land conversion in "special circumstances." Experts contend these discretionary clauses significantly dilute the absolute protection such steep, fragile areas require.

When questioned on whether the regulations conflict with the FSI’s 3-degree slope definition, Urban Development and Housing Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra was cited by The Indian Express as stating that “certain activities were permitted... After the apex court’s decision... if there are any positive suggestions on the decisions which have been taken earlier, then there can be a review.”

Contrastingly, a senior state mining department official sought to distance the issue from urban planning, stating the Aravalli situation “is mainly related to the mining department; it has no direct implications for urban development and housing department as such.”

However, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has recently offered a forceful defence of the Aravalli range, declaring the mountains the “breath” of the state and vowing there would be “no tampering” with them. Speaking at an NDTV conclave, Sharma framed the issue in spiritual terms, stating, “We are those people who worship trees, mountains, rivers and I am a devotee of Girirajdhar.”

This public assurance comes amid a significant controversy sparked by a recent Supreme Court order, which narrowed the legal definition of the “Aravalli” to include only landforms rising 100 metres or more above the surrounding terrain.

The 2024 regulations replace the 2018 Hill Conservation norms, which faced multiple legal challenges. Dr Anil Mehta, joint secretary of the Udaipur-based Jheel Sanrakshan Samiti, a group that had previously litigated, has argued against any form of commercial construction on hills. The group reportedly plans to mount a fresh legal challenge against the new framework.

A key mandate of the new rules - requiring urban bodies to use GIS data to officially classify all hilly areas within six months - remains unfulfilled, according to Dr Mehta. This delay leaves the precise on-ground impact of the policy currently undefined even as its legal and ecological implications begin to unfold.

As the Supreme Court turns its attention to the Aravalli ecosystem, Rajasthan’s regulatory shift has set the stage for a renewed conflict between developmental aspirations for urban fringe areas and the pressing need to preserve a critical geological and ecological barrier.