The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of concerns regarding the definition of the Aravalli Hills and will hear the matter on Monday. The court previously accepted a uniform, elevation-based definition and banned new mining leases until expert reports are finalized. Environmental activists have raised apprehensions that this definition could permit mining in ecologically significant lower hills, potentially leading to degradation. The Union Ministry of Environment has directed states to ban new mining leases to preserve the range.