New Delhi: Amid concerns over the recent redefinition of the Aravalli Hills, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and decided to hear it on Monday. A three-judge Special Vacation Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will hear the matter.

In a judgment in November, the Apex Court accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, defining the ‘Aravalli Hills’ as any landform with an elevation of 100 m or more above the local relief and an ‘Aravalli Range’ as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 m from each other.

“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 court had agreed with the Ministry panel.

The panel had also defined the Aravali Range, saying, “Two or more Aravalli Hills, located within a proximity of 500 metres from each other, measured from the outermost point on the boundary of the lowest contour line on either side, shall constitute the Aravalli Range”.