'Aravallis among the oldest mountain systems in world'

M K Pandit says different states define boundaries differently, creating confusion

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AFTER public outrage, the Supreme Court stayed November 20 order on the Aravalli mountain range, saying only hills with a height of 100 metres or more would be considered as part of the range.

The 2010 Forest Survey of India report states only 8% of the nearly 12,000 hills in Rajasthan are higher than 100 metres. If such hills are excluded from the Aravalli range, questions arise about their legal and ecological protection, M K Pandit, former head of geology department at the University of Rajasthan, tells Rajesh Asnani. Excerpts:

The Aravalli range is a protective shield for North India. Its total length is about 692 km, of which nearly 80%-around 550 km-lies in Rajasthan. Of the state's total hills, only 1,048 are more than 100 metres high, meaning about 8.7% qualify under the new definition. Without the Aravallis, many rivers in North India would not exist. Forests, plant species, minerals, and invaluable ecological assets would be lost.