Aravalli activists have sharply criticised the Supreme Court-constituted High-Powered Committee’s (HPC) public consultation process, warning that its reliance on digital platforms systematically excludes the rural and tribal communities most affected by decisions regarding the 700-km range. Responding to the Supreme Court’s invitation for written representations, environmentalists and grassroots leaders argued that the email- and Google Form-based mechanism, coupled with a tight 21-day deadline, prevents local voices from meaningfully participating.

Diwan Singh, Delhi-based environmentalist and convenor of Ridge Bachao Andolan, highlighted the structural bias of the online approach.

“The email- and Google Form-based process is structurally biased in favour of urban, educated voices, not the rural and Adivasi communities living in the Aravalli range who are facing the everyday destruction of their hills, forests, water bodies, agricultural fields, and pasture lands, along with the loss of traditional livelihoods, health, and way of life.

"The committee must visit villages in the Aravalli belt and see the ground reality. Most of the licensed mining leases running today across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat are blatantly flouting rules, causing deep damage to the health and livelihoods of local communities. That damage can only be understood by going on the ground and meeting mining-affected communities in person. No written submission can capture the everyday suffering endured by people dependent on the health of the Aravallis for their existence,” Singh stated.

Echoing these concerns, Kusum Rawat, Youth Bhil Adivasi leader from Rajasthan and member of the pan-India Adivasi Samanvay Manch Bharat, pointed to accessibility barriers.

“The online submission process announced by HPC is not designed for rural people. A villager in the Aravalli belt cannot navigate a complex email address or Google Form, let alone ensure it reaches the right inbox without a typographical error. Also, how will knowledge of this invitation even reach the villages in the first place?

“If the Supreme Court-appointed committee is serious about hearing grassroots voices, it must first ensure that public notices in the local language are physically pasted in panchayat bhawans, community halls, government schools, and anganwadis in all 64 Aravalli districts across 5 states. Information should also be disseminated via radio and the e-Mitra network to enable community members to record their concerns,” Rawat said.

Lokesh Bhiwani, Haryana-based environmentalist and founder of ‘Stand With Nature’, stressed that a 21-day window is grossly inadequate for genuine grassroots outreach.

“Twenty-one days is entirely inadequate to hear from the diverse communities living deep within the Aravalli belt. Engaging these communities meaningfully is a manual, time-intensive process. There are no shortcuts, and decent coverage of voices within this timeline is simply not possible.

“The committee must approach the Hon’ble Supreme Court with a request to extend the deadline for submitting its final report beyond August 31, 2026. That extension would allow the committee to move beyond email submissions and collect richer, more authentic on-the-ground data from people who have lived in and around these hills for generations. Without that, the committee’s report will lack credibility, like the previous committees,” Bhiwani remarked.

Prashant Patni, coordinator of Shahbad Ghati Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti, Baran district, South-East Rajasthan, urged the HPC to rely on traditional community knowledge rather than arbitrary geometric metrics to define the range.

“The Aravallis were never undefined. For generations, local communities have mapped this range with a precision that no height-based threshold can replicate. Instead of anchoring the definition in a geometric formula, the HPC should visit these communities and understand the true Aravalli footprint from them, based on their centuries-old knowledge and on-the-ground verification.

“Even in the 27 districts excluded from the list of Aravalli districts submitted to the Supreme Court in the affidavit of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in October 2025, village communities can show you Aravalli presence that official maps miss entirely. These visits would also help the committee identify areas of cultural, social, and religious significance within the range, so they can be properly protected in its final recommendations to the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” Patni stated.