New Delhi: The Forest Survey of India (FSI) on Tuesday (December 23) said that it had not carried out any study stating that after the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, 90% of the Aravalli hills would be left unprotected.“FSI categorically refutes claims in certain sections of the media that it has carried out any study showing that 90% of the hills in Aravalli would be left unprotected following the recent judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 20th November, 2025. FSI categorically refutes claims in certain sections of the media that it has carried out any study saying that only 9% Aravalli is above 100 meters,” the FSI said in two posts on X on Tuesday.According to an Indian Express report dated November 27, internal documents of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) showed that only 1,048 of 12,081 Aravalli Hills 20 metres or higher and spread across 15 districts in Rajasthan, are 100 metres or more in height. This means that just about 8.7% of the Aravallis in Rajasthan will be protected by this definition. Rajasthan has the highest area under the Aravallis across all states, the newspaper had reported.The news report had also quoted an official of the Union Environment ministry as saying that the FSI had cautioned that the 100 metre cut-off “would protect only a few guard posts while surrendering the fences below”. Losing lower hills will likely expose vast areas to sand and dust particles blowing from the Thar desert to the Indo-Gangetic plains and endanger the livelihood of farmers and health of people, including those living in Delhi-NCR, the Indian Express quoted the unnamed official as saying.According to a report submitted by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to the Supreme Court, mining activities resulted in 31 of the 128 hills in Rajasthan vanishing. The mining of red silica, granite and other minor minerals like stones had led to this phenomenon, reported The Tribune.“Rapid urbanisation have led to the disappearance of large portions of the Aravalli hills, posing a significant threat to the region’s flora and fauna. The study also noted the disappearance of hills with elevations ranging from 200 meters to 600 meters above sea level in areas such as Naraina, Kalwar, Kotputli, Jhalana and Sariska. Between 1972 and 1975, around 16 Aravalli districts in Rajasthan documented a forest cover spanning 10,462 sq km. However, within less than a decade, from 1981 to 1984, the forest cover had dwindled to 6,116 sq km,” the report by the CEC said.The FSI’s statement on Tuesday comes just a day after the Union Environment Ministry said that out of the 1,43,000 square km area, only 217.89 square km was open for mining.