India, Dec. 24 -- That the Aravallis is under threat is an understatement. Mining (mostly illegal) and real estate development (some illegal) have encroached on this rugged landscape that acts as a natural wall against desertification and offers protection against pollution in the NCR. Which is why the move by a central panel - endorsed by the Supreme Court in a November 20 order - to define the Aravallis in terms of elevation (100 metres and above from local relief or ground level) has led to protests in multiple states over fears of destruction of one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav has justified the definition on the ground that it is "applicable only for mining purposes"; the Centre claims the definition applies to only 0.19% of the Aravallis and the exception for mining is controlled by the Supreme Court. None of this is convincing. It is unclear why the government discarded the Forest Survey of India's suggestion to identify land with a slope of 3 degree or more with the Aravallis in favour of the elevation benchmark, which experts have pointed out would lead to the exclusion of large parcels of land (in the 37 Aravalli districts situated in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi) from legal safeguards. Since the ministry of environment, forests and climate change prohibited mining and real estate in the Aravallis in the districts of Gurgaon and Alwar in 1992 through a notification, and the apex court's multiple interventions since 2002, there have been many attempts to override protection for this precarious landscape. Rajasthan has been censured by the Supreme Court for not being serious about the threat of mining while Haryana has even refused to acknowledge the presence of the range. Powerful sections have lobbied, often successfully, with the State to relax the restrictions and open up the Aravallis for mining companies and realtors. The presence of critical minerals is currently being cited to facilitate mining: The central panel has called for "a framework that enables systematic, scientific, and environmentally sustainable exploitation of critical, strategic, and atomic minerals located within the region". The fact is that no framework can offer balance between mining and conservation and ecological concerns. Short-term financial consideration can't be allowed to override long-term ecological and societal considerations, which includes management of air pollution and groundwater conservation in the NCR. The pursuit of a "uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges" itself is a fraught idea considering its varied landscape. The Aravallis is a complex, composite ecosystem that sustains wildlife reserves, lakes, wetlands, and human habitations. Let it be....